


I'll Always Love You, New York

by groovymutation



Category: Sherlock - Fandom, Star Trek AOS, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Jim likes dinosaurs, Multi Crossover, New York AU, Sebastian wears really ugly cardigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-04-05 03:11:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14034909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/groovymutation/pseuds/groovymutation
Summary: Leonard, a renowned surgeon, has his world turned upside down by an unusual nurse.Jim, a bar owner, finds himself a new group of friends after a motorcycling accident.Sebastian, a bookstore owner, struggles to keep his head above water when a handsome museum curator turns his world around.And in the middle of it all, is the nurse herself, Eva, who seems to struggle with just about nothing until her brother mysteriously turns up out of the blue...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm celebrating my 20th work on this site and thought there was no better way than to do my most favourite thing; an AU that takes place in the bustling city of New York.  
> Below is a list of the characters and what they do just so you all know who does what!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this, it's basically a massive thanks for all your support over everything I've written.
> 
> Castiel Novak - Comic Book Store owner  
> Dean Winchester - Barman (Works alongside Jim Kirk)  
> Jim Kirk - Bar Owner  
> Leonard McCoy - Surgeon at Brooklyn Hospital  
> Sebastian Moran - Bookstore Owner  
> Molly Hooper - Barista (Works alongside Sebastian)  
> Abigail Ward - Waitress at Olive Garden  
> Evangaline Northman - Nurse at Brooklyn Hospital  
> James Moriarty - Museum Curator at NHM
> 
> P.S The work is unbeta'd so apologies for any typos!

For mid-September, the sky outside and above Brooklyn Hospital was a crisp and clear blue. The trees were almost rid of their leaves and the chill of winter was already making itself known. Staff wandered to and fro on the wards of the hospital with charts and records in their hands, with pagers bleeping and coffee being splattered onto the floors as doctors made a mad rush to aid their patients. 

But on the 32nd floor on Wing D in a private room, a nurse was perched calmly and happily on the edge of a bed belonging to a patient by the name of James T. Kirk. His left leg was in a plaster cast, his fingers on his right hand were strapped up and he had stitches in his forehead, but a great and dopey grin still spread across his face as he re-started the game of checkers he'd been playing with the nurse. 

"One more game, James," the nurse smiled at him. "Some of us have a job to do." 

"I am your job," he grinned as she sat a little more comfortably. "Besides, you like spending time with me. I'm your favourite."

"I just think you like all the nurses," she gave a shrug and slid a counter forwards before she smiled back at James. 

James moved his piece before he looked at the nurse. She was petite and slim with long black hair that was pulled into a wavy ponytail. Her fringe was pulled to one side almost covering one shining emerald eye and she always smiled. 

"But you're the nicest of the nurses," he complimented her. "I don't have to call you Nurse Northman; you let me call you by your name. You let me call you Evangeline."

"That's only because you're my favourite," she glanced back at him, catching his bright blue gaze before she slid from the bed and grabbed his chart. 

"You said one more game!" he protested but smiled all the same. 

"I did but now I have to be Nurse Northman," she said, peering over his chart. "How are you feeling today?"

James frowned for a moment and looked to his leg, glanced at his strapped up fingers and rolled his eyes to the corner of his head where his stitches were before he looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders. 

"My ankle hurts," he answered. "But I haven't had my medication yet."

For a moment, Evangeline stared at him, her hand holding up a sheet of paper as she'd been looking at the sheet beneath.

"What?" she frowned. "What do you mean you haven't been given them yet?"

"I mean I haven't had them yet?" Kirk frowned back. "Your intern, that Anderson kid? Haven't seen him today."

Evangeline's eyes moved back to the chart and sure enough Anderson's name and signature were missing from the chart; James hadn't had his medications since yesterday. Glaring at the chart she saw that another signature was missing, the one from James' surgeon. He'd made his notes on the patient, written his drug dosages down, but forgot to sign it off. 

"I'll sort it for you, Mr. Kirk," Evangeline glanced back to him and clutched the chart to her chest hoping that no one else had noticed Anderson's mistake; it was her neck on the line if they had and her superior already didn't like her. "I have to pop down and see your surgeon, I'll bring you your medication on the way back, promise."

"I told you, call me Jim," he flashed a near perfect smile at her but she rolled her eyes. 

"And I told you," she smiled back at him as she reached the door. "I'm a nurse, I don't date my patients. Now get some rest, Jim. I'll be back in a little while."

Once she was out of the private room, she glanced up and down the ward in search of Anderson and found him nowhere. With a heavy and deep sigh she walked to the nurses station to where her work friend was sitting behind the station.

"Sally?" she leant over the desk with James' file beneath her crossed arms. "Could you call down to surgery and find out where Doctor L.H McCoy is for me please?"

Sally, who was dark skinned and wild haired beamed a great big smile at Evangeline as she lifted the phone and dialed down to the appropriate ward. 

"What's it concerning Eva?" she asked. 

"Paperwork," she answered. "Two second job, tops."

After a moment or so, someone answered the phone on the surgery reception and Sally relayed the information to her before she received an answer and put down the phone. 

"Go on down Eva," she smiled as she looked at her leaning over the table. "McCoy's in the rest room til 5:30."

"Thanks Sally," Eva peeled the file from the top of the reception and stood up straight. "I owe you one."

Sally shrugged it off as Evangeline took herself to the lifts and headed to the 21st floor. She showed her badge to security and again at reception before she walked endless corridors that were quieter than the ones upstairs. 

She finally found her way to the rest room situated at the end of what she was sure was the longest corridor in the whole hospital, and as she arrived at the rest room another doctor left and she saw only one man left in the room.

Out of politeness she knocked on the door first even though it was wide open. The man turned slightly in his seat and upon seeing a nurse, he nodded her in. Evangeline was out of her neck of the woods and into another completely. 

"Doctor McCoy?" she said unsurely. 

"Well that depends on what you're wantin'," the man said as Eva stood before the table he was sat at. "What can I do for you?"

"James Kirk's paperwork," she flipped to the page that was missing his signature and laid it on the desk before him. "You forgot to sign."

McCoy peered at the paper work and pulled a pen out of his shirt scrubs pocket. As he signed, Eva looked him over. He looked tall and well built. From what she could see of his skin he was tanned and lightly freckled, his hair was dark and neatly styled and as he looked back up at her to hand her James' file back, she saw the prettiest hazel eyes she'd ever seen.

"Kids a pain in my ass," McCoy sat back in his chair after he handed the file back to her. "You must be Nurse Northman; I seen you a couple times headin' in and out of his room. Keeps you busy does he?"

"Oh uh," Eva floundered for a moment, not expecting a conversation. "He...gets bored quite easily. I'm not supposed to 'get attached' as Puri calls it, but I like James."

"You like him huh?" McCoy lifted a jaundiced eyebrow and Eva felt her cheeks warm. 

"Thank you," she lifted James' file slightly before she walked away towards the door. "I'll get back to where I belong."

McCoy frowned after her but didn't stop her from leaving; he'd seen her name multiple times on patient paperwork, even overheard patients family talking about how kind and caring she'd been to their loved ones.

After a moment or so, McCoy consulted the clock on the wall and found it to be just turned three. Instead of whiling his time away in the rest room, he headed up to the ward where James was in his scrubs just to see how well the kids ankle was mending. 

He showed his badge to Sally on the desk and sure enough he saw Nurse Northman busying around the ward with James' file still in hand. He saw her head for the medication cabinets at the end of the ward but a tall man beckoned Evangeline over.

He stopped outside James' room for a moment as the man who McCoy could now quite clearly see was sullen faced, led Nurse Northman down the ward and past reception into a private office. From the look on the nurses face, McCoy guessed that she was either in trouble or being put into a position of doing something she didn't want to do.

With nothing more to see, McCoy headed into James' room who was sat up in bed waiting for his nurse to return.

"You're not Evangeline," he scowled at the Doctor. 

"No, I ain't, I'm Doctor McCoy, your surgeon," McCoy grouched. "That your sister? Girlfriend?" 

McCoy pulled up the gaudy leather clad chair that smelt of too much hand sanitizer and sat himself in it, ready to talk to James about his healing process and just him in general to see if he'd suffered any trauma from his accident. 

"I wish she was my girlfriend, have you seen how hot she is?" James turned to McCoy who still looked lost. "Nurse Northman! Yours and her names are on my paperwork! You must know her!"

"Kid, just because my names on your sheet or her name is on my paperwork don't mean we know one another," McCoy answered him as he tried to feign interest. "But you got a crush on your attending nurse huh?"

"No," James pouted. "Have you seen her? She was meant to bring me my medication after she'd seen you."

Medication. McCoy's eyes widened slightly. Had she forgotten to give James his medication? Was that why she looked like that following that man down the ward? 

"Does she usually give you your meds?" he asked.

"No, an intern does," James answered him as he flinched from a pain in his leg. "But I've not seen him today."

"Listen, kid," McCoy sat forwards. "I can issue your meds until Nurse Northman gets back to you so long as you behave. No more hittin' on the staff, you hear?"

"Anyone ever tell you that you're boring?" James sighed deeply. 

"You want your pain meds or not?" McCoy lifted a brow and crossed his arms as he stood by the door. "Because I can sure as hell make you suffer if I say so."

"Fine," James said bluntly. 

"Good," McCoy nodded. "I'll be right back."

He left the room and scanned the ward seeing the man who'd led Nurse Northman down the ward but no sign of Nurse Northman at all. Putting together James' medication, he signed for them on his chart at reception and handed them to James when he returned to his room.

"I'll come back and check on that ankle tomorrow, alright?" McCoy nodded to the plaster cast propped up on three pillows before he walked to the door. "Nurse Northman will look after you in the meantime."

"Thanks Bones," James gave a yawn and settled into his pillows. 

"What did you just call me?" he turned with a heavy frown to look at the half docile blonde settled into the bed. 

"Bones," he answered. "You know, because you fix bones? I like it."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night kid," McCoy shook his head as he left the room. 

He strolled the ward visiting a few of his other patients and still didn't see Nurse Northman. On his way from the ward he stopped at the nurses station and caught Sally's attention.

"Sally, you ain't seen Nurse Northman around have you?" he asked. "Just, I wanted to ask her somethin' about James Kirk."

"I've not seen her since she left to find you," she shrugged. "Sorry Leonard."

With a furrowed brow McCoy thanked the nurse and headed back down to the rest room, but not before he saw the sullen faced Doctor return to his office that McCoy could quite plainly see was now empty.

So where had Nurse Northman gone?


	2. Chapter 2

Evangeline's feet carried her from the building with a wild and angered look across her face. Grabbing nothing but her bag from her locker, she stormed from the hospital and flung herself into the 1966 Mustang Fastback that sat surrounded by new fandangled vehicles in the car park. 

She allowed herself a moment to calm down before the misery kicked in. Careless, haphazard and none too bright were just a handful of words Puri had used in his disciplinary and they were just a selection of the reasons why he’d fired her. 

Careless was something she wasn’t. She was an aid to her patients doing anything and everything she could for them. She was gentle and kind and above all else patient. Haphazard was an insult to her; she was always organized, always on time and always knew where she had to be and when. The last insult she was sure was said just because Puri seemed to be on a roll. 

She slunk down in her seat, arms folded and chin almost on her chest as she glared at the softened leather of the steering wheel. If anyone was slapdash about the place it was Anderson; she had no idea how the kid had managed to stay on as an intern. 

Her anger subsided replaced only by a sick feeling in her stomach. She glanced about the car park and then at the clock on the dash before she fished out her keys and started the car with a satisfying roar of the engine. 

Without even looking back at the hospital she vowed to pick up her things in the morning and went to the only place she felt would be a comfort to her; a dusty, rickety old bookstore-come-coffeehouse just off of Bergen Street named The Raconteur.

She knew the route like the back of her hand and the owner, Sebastian, like family. Molly, who worked in the coffee half of the store was dating Evangeline’s roommate, Abigail and the four of them were like a little family. 

The gem of the street, a Pontiac Fire Bird that belonged to Sebastian, gleamed in the low afternoon sun outside of the store and Evangeline parked bumper to bumper with it before she pulled herself out of the car and took herself into the store. 

The outside was not much really to write home about. Books were piled in the windows, their spines turned towards the glass with their fabric covers fraying like they were some old and expensive looking sculpture and really, if Sebastian’s tidiness was an art form sculpture is all it could really pass for since his method of tidying away the books was to sling them in a precarious pile that was in danger of toppling over at any given moment. 

With the windows blocked up by teetering piles of books, the interior of the store was a little dark. For a small looking place, the inside was vast. A suspended balcony stretched out half way from the back wall and a staircase at the far left of the store led up to numerous shelves of books.

Beneath the balcony were more shelves nestled away as though they were hiding precious treasures. To the right beneath the balcony was an arch built into the wall where the smell of fresh filter coffee wandered into the store intermingling with the smell of the old and the dusty. 

Old cracked lamps sat in various and awkward places; one on a stack of books, three on the staircase with an odd book or six along side it. The only placement that ever made sense to Evangeline was the one on Sebastian’s desk beneath the balcony that always looked like it was in danger of being knocked to the floor. 

As she walked in she immediately heard the sound of The Doors playing overhead. Sebastian’s love of old British rock was always present either on his t-shirts or in his store and a record would always be playing that had been ‘borrowed’ from the record vault located through a narrow door behind Sebastian’s desk with a red neon sign above that occasionally flickered the words ‘Vinyl Vault.’ 

As per usual, Sebastian hadn’t heard the bell above the door chime because, as per usual, Sebastian was buried deep in a book with his glasses balancing on the end of his nose. 

Evangeline took one long look at him and sighed deeply as she stood alone in the middle of the store with The Doors Love Me Two Times playing over head. 

Sebastian was tall, a little over six foot with long thin legs and an unusually well toned top half. A foot in a pair of torn up black and white checkerboard Vans kept the beat to the song as a nimble finger tapped absently against a pale cheek whilst he read. 

Deep, blue eyes read the print on the page with the aid of a pair of black thick framed glasses and a mess of bright blonde hair with a fringe somewhere was raked to the right side of his head by the use of his bony but calloused hands. 

If he wasn’t awkward looking enough, his clothes only served to further the meaning of the word. The shop might have been a little dark but Sebastian’s clothes weren’t. Matched to skinny blue jeans that were turned up and showing a little too much pale and bony ankle for Eva’s liking was a royal blue and orange checked shirt buttoned right up to the collar and a perfectly royal blue cardigan with an orange argyle pattern running through it. 

With a slight shake of her head, Eva made for the desk and it was only when she was before it that Sebastian even noticed her presence. He looked entirely too big for the stool he was perched on and the desk looked far too small for the amount of rubbish that cluttered it. 

He saw immediately in her face that something wasn’t right and politely set aside his book to listen to what she had to say as he turned the volume of the record down. 

“Everything okay?” he asked when she didn’t speak. 

She was quiet for a moment more before she met his face and shook her head. She didn’t look upset or mad, just a little blank and confused. 

“Seb,” she drew a breath and frowned again. “I got fired today.”

The blondes eyes widened and he shoved his glasses up his nose as he sat up a little straighter and pulled his sleeves over his knuckles. 

“Oh,” he said after a long pause. “Shit.”

He stared at her in anticipation of further information but got nothing but a mirror of his own response in her own born and bred Louisiana accent which only came out when she was incredibly mad or miserable. 

“Yeah,” she agreed as she leant forwards on his desk and looked him in the face. “Shit.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian guided his friend delicately by the shoulders through the arch into The Den where Molly was serving her usual afternoon customers. Even if the people in The Den weren't avid readers, they still enjoyed the aged atmosphere of the place. 

Sebastian guessed that New Yorkers were like that; their lifestyles were a work of modern art themselves, perhaps it was just the 'in' thing. Perhaps Sebastian's little store and coffee house was, god forbid, chic. 

Molly wandered the tables like a waitress in a fifties diner with a coffee pot in one hand and a small notebook clasped in the other to which the pencil it belonged to was stuffed into her long, sleek ponytail that fell down her back perfectly. 

She gave a puzzled look to Evangeline, wondering why she was here when she should be at work, but the expression Sebastian returned to her was one that said she shouldn't question it. Instead, the blonde directed her to a table away from the customers and Molly came over to hand them both a coffee.

Molly was petite and cute, with the sweetest face you could imagine. Her skin was perfect, her eyes deep and brown and sparkling with happiness no matter when she did. There was no uniform for The Den, but Molly liked to look neat. She wore a pencil skirt and a blouse, both black, with an apron tied around her waist printed with different excerpts of texts. 

She took one look at Evangeline and knew all wasn't well, she'd never seen her so miserable before. 

"Are you okay?" Molly asked, laying a hand delicately on her shoulder. 

Evangeline had known Molly the exact same amount of time as she'd known Sebastian but Molly was dating her roommate and never wholly felt like they were best friends, more like acquaintances even if they did spend all their time together in the company of others.

"I got fired," she said miserably. 

Molly's eyebrows raised as the blonde just looked at Evangeline over the table, his own eyebrows furrowed in thought as his glasses perched on the end of his nose. 

"How?" Molly slid herself into the space between them. "Or even why? You're a great nurse."

Molly's petite hand slipped over Evangeline's gently to comfort her and she gave her a forlorn smile as she pulled herself back up. 

"You remember Kirk?" she looked between them to show she was talking to Sebastian too. "The guy who had the motorcycle accident?"

"That one who always flirts with you?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, him," she nodded. "Anderson forgot to give him his pain medication this morning. Puri found out before I could fix it. He's been wanting to get me out of there for a while. He said I was irresponsible and haphazard."

"But that's not your fault," Molly frowned, her eyes still shimmering even though she looked upset for her. "You weren't supposed to give your patient his medication, it was your interns job."

"My interns are my responsibility," she muttered. "But I shouldn't have to chase them. But like I said, Puri's wanted me out for a while, he got what he wanted."

"But what about you?" Sebastian looked positively miserable for her. "What are you gonna do?"

Evangeline stared at the burly blond in front of her, at the pulls and holes in the cardigan he wore and at the undone buttons on the shirt under it. His huge hands were splayed on the table, his finger ends hardened up from paper cuts, his nails bitten to the skin and she smiled. 

"I don't know," she finally said. "And that's okay. Abigail and I have enough money to carry us for a short while. I'm sure I'll find another nursing job."

"You wanna go back to nursing?" he frowned. 

"I don't know, not really," she rested on folded arms. "But it is all I know. I wish I could work here."

"I wish I could afford to employ you here," he sighed, catching her hand with a huge palm. "But you can watch the store for a few days if you want while I run some errands."

"I'd like that," she gave a thankful smile. 

"You can start tomorrow," he gave a lopsided grin as he shoved his hair from his face. 

"Sure," she nodded. "I'll be by in the afternoon when I've collected my things from the hospital."

-

Evangeline had been dreading telling Abigail what had happened, but she'd been understanding. After the whole explanation they'd gotten take out and watched re-runs of America's next top model.

This morning when Evangeline awoke, Abigail was already gone for work and their apartment was empty. It was a big space with an open plan living area and kitchen complete with small dining table, two couches and a coffee table. They each had their own rooms, Abigail's looking over the back of the building into the communal garden, Evangeline's overlooking the front where she could see her car parked on the street. 

She dressed for the day in jeans, boots and a long sleeved cream shirt before grabbing a light jacket and a scarf. Mid-September was always cold and Evangeline didn't fancy her chances if it rained because when it rained in New York, it poured. 

The sky was overcast and a chilly breeze rustled the changed leaves that lined Jackson street as she clambered into her car and jammed the key in the ignition. She made sure she had her pass and ID to get into the hospital and flung them onto the passenger seat before she pulled out of her space and headed over there. 

She parked as close as she could before locking up the car and sighing deeply. Pocketing all her things, keys, cards and all, she headed inside and found her way up to the ward where she no longer worked. 

Doctors and nurses to-ed and fro-ed but none paid her any mind; she wasn't in uniform, to them she was just a visitor, but Sally recognized her right away and frowned up at her as she reached the nurses station.

"Aren't you on duty today?" she asked as she glanced at her pass. 

"Don't ask," Evangeline answered, tossing her long hair over one shoulder. "I'm here to collect my things."

"What?" Sally half laughed through surprise. "You're pulling my leg."

"I'm really not," Evangeline never broke a smile as she took her pass back and left the nurses station. 

On the way down the corridor, she decided to stop in at Kirk's room. She opened the door expecting the blonde to be sat up in bed with the dopey smile on his face, but the room was empty, the bed made and there was no sign of the crystal blue eyes that often watched Evangeline to and fro down the ward. 

With a frown, she turned from the room and closed the door before she bumped someone's shoulder and sent a handful of papers floating towards the ground. Immediately, Evangeline knelt down and scrambled to retrieve them before she caught the green scrubs of a surgeon and the perturbed face of Dr. L.H McCoy. 

"Sorry," she said, holding a handful of papers. 

McCoy glanced up with a glare but when he met the familiar face, it softened and was replaced by a skeptical look. He remained crouched for a few minutes, attempting to put a name to her face before they both rose slowly and she handed him the papers she'd collected.

"Nurse Northman," he half gestured a corner of the file in his hand toward her. 

"Doctor McCoy," she nodded once. "Sorry, again."

"It's fine," he said, his eyes wandering her attire. "Your scrubs dirty or somethin'?"

"Or something," she half shrugged. "Busy?"

She glanced at the now messed up file in his large hands but he merely shrugged before tucking it beneath his arm and slinging his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sure I can spare five minutes if you're askin'," he said hesitantly. 

She wasn't but she nodded all the same and led him down the ward to where some private offices were at the bottom. Outside of one, her name was displayed proudly and McCoy eyed it as she walked right on by. 

The office was small but had a killer view of Brooklyn and McCoy gaped as she headed straight for one of the shelves. 

"Fancy," he commented before he slumped down in one of the two chairs facing her small desk. 

"I guess," she shrugged one shoulder as she set her hands on a box and removed the contents that didn't belong to her before launching it's empty state onto the desk. 

She pulled open draws and pulled things from shelves; photos, pens, pads, anything that belonged to her, and shoved it straight into the box.

"You get a promotion?" McCoy asked as he watched her fling things into the box with growing anger. "You Doctor Northman now?"

Evangeline would have laughed if it weren't too soon. She launched a stapler into the box and slumped down in the office chair with a deep sigh before shoving the box aside so she could see McCoy over the desk. 

"Demotion, actually," she tried to say it levelly but it came out almost poisonous. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, I just...didn't expect it."

"So what," McCoy leant on her desk, staring at the wooden top. "They putting you down in ER? Pediatrics?"  
"They're putting me out of a job," she said, slamming the lid onto the box. "I got fired."

McCoy's dark eyes shot up to look at her but she was looking out of the window, her back turned to him. He felt bad for his joking around, felt bad ultimately for her and he rose from the chair and tucked the file back under his arm.

"I'm sorry, kid," he said and Evangeline turned and partly smiled at him as she hoisted the box. "What happened?"

"Not important," she shrugged. "Also, not your fault. But hey, it was nice finally meeting you, Doctor McCoy."

"Well hell," he held the door open for her as she passed by back into the hall. "Glad I finally met Nurse Northman."

"Evangeline," she smiled up at him as they walked side by side down the corridor. 

"Leonard," he answered her. "I'd shake your hand but you're a little occupied."

Evangeline grinned then but stopped outside of what was Kirk's private room with a frown. 

"Where is Kirk?" she asked.

"Discharged this morning with pills and crutches," he answered her as he lifted the file in his hand. "Just takin' care of his paperwork before surgery this afternoon."

"Oh," she frowned slightly, disappointed that she didn't get to say goodbye to him. "Well, I'd better get home, so much stuff to put away."

Her tone was sarcastic and her eyes dropped to the half full box in her grasp as Leonard anxiously rubbed the back of his neck; he liked the girl enough to maybe get to know her better but he wouldn't get that chance if he didn't open his mouth within the next five seconds because she'd be gone out of the door for good. 

"I get off at six," he suddenly said, his eyes fixed to the marble effect floor. "Would you maybe wanna get coffee or somethin'?"

Evangeline looked at the surgeon as he dared to look up at her, his tan face holding a slight flush of pink as he fidgeted with the edge of the file. His brain ran riot; what if she had a boyfriend? What if she'd heard bad things about him around the hospital? What if-

"Sure," she said after a long minute. "Yeah, I'd like that. There's a Starbucks three blocks from here, I'll meet you there at 6:30?"

For a moment, Leonard was baffled at the answer before he remembered to answer her himself. 

"Yeah," he gave a nod and allowed himself a small smile. "I'll see you there at 6:30."

"See you later," Evangeline backed away from him with a growing smile. "Leonard."

She turned and walked off but Leonard called after her.

"I'll see you later," he was grinning now and didn't care who saw. "Evangeline."


	4. Chapter 4

Evangeline launched the box of belongings on her back seat where she didn't have to see them and took the drive over to Seb's place to keep her brain occupied for the afternoon until she met Leonard.

She parked up behind Molly's lilac Fiat in the street seeing the Pontiac nowhere in sight, grabbed her phone and her iPod out of its cradle on the dash and headed into the store. 

It seemed odd to her not to see Sebastian sitting behind the cluttered desk with his size ten feet up on the surface, even weirder still that no record was playing. Several customers were sat in Molly's half of the shop with the New York Times splayed over the table or the financial report, but no one roamed the dusty shelves of The Raconteur. 

Molly threw her a friendly wave and a smile which she returned before she slumped onto the high stool behind the cluttered desk. Poorly scrawled reminders were tacked to the edges, coffee mug rings staining the varnished surface and heel marks were Sebastian had rested his huge feet added to the character of the thing and she smiled fondly as she pulled off her jacket. 

A crookedly folded piece of paper caught her eye propped up against the gaudy lamp on the desk and her name was written across the front of it in Sebastian's childish handwriting. She unfolded it carefully and scanned over it's contents.

'Eva,  
Upstairs are three boxes of new books that want sorting out. If you manage to get through those, would you mind tidying up the records in the back? I'll be back in store around 5. I'll see you then.  
Seb.'

Eva didn't mind at all as she folded the note back in half and left it on his desk. Sebastian stored lost treasures in terms of books, but he also stocked new releases; he'd had to if he wanted to keep up with the other stores, so upstairs on the far right was a shelf dedicated to the chart topping books that had just been released. 

Leaving her phone and keys in the draw of Sebastian's desk, Evangeline scaled the twisted staircase up to the balcony, her fingers trailing the worn varnished wood as she went. Small piles of books were left on every other step; a penguin classic here, a leather bound volume there and she was careful not to trip. 

The boxes were sat side by side and at least Sebastian had been kind enough to put them there for her instead of leaving her to lug them all the way up the stairs herself, he'd even written out the chart for her so she knew what order to put them in. 

She tore the tape from the first box and peered in at the contents. The books were packed perfectly, not a page out of place or a spine broken. The smell was new and fresh, crisp paper and ink. It was a smell that reminded Eva of stories yet to be told, a stark difference to the smell of the rest of the store that was aged and musty, familiar and homely. 

She couldn't help but peek inside the first book she lifted from the box. It was perfectly rectangular, no greasy hand prints on the cover, the pages clinically white and unblemished. She opened it just enough to see the freshly printed words, but not enough to crack the spine before she took in the scent and began stacking the shelves. 

The books that had remained on the shelf but fell from the charts were re-boxed to be returned to the publishers and when she'd finished, she glanced up at all the brand new books and felt accomplished and relaxed. Sebastian had a mantra; there's nothing a book can't fix, and Eva was glad to say she was adopting that as one of her own too. 

She made a mental note to pick up two or three books from the chart before she left before she lugged the leftovers back down the stairs and stored them under Sebastian's desk before leaving him a note. 

The record room had been tidier than she'd anticipated and when she was done straightening and ordering, she headed back up to the balcony to tidy the rest of the shelves before coming back down and seeing Molly now she coffee store was quieter. 

Molly handed her a coffee, tended to her two other customers who were lost in their books and joined Eva for her break with a coffee of her own. 

"How are you?" Molly asked

"Better," Evangeline nodded at her with a smile. "Abigail and I talked it out so we're okay. I gathered my things this morning. I'm going to be okay."

"I'm glad to hear it," Molly smiled gently. "We're right here if you need us. Did anyone at the hospital say anything? Did you see Kirk before you left?"

"I tried to see Kirk," her face scrunched slightly. "He was discharged though, his room was empty. I bumped into his surgeon whilst I was there. I'm seeing him later actually."

Molly's interest suddenly peaked, her eyes gleaming a little more than usual, her smile a little brighter as she sat up straight and studied Evangeline who was giving her a curious look.

"Oh?" Molly asked. "Any reason?"

"Coffee," Evangeline answered. "He asked."

"So he asked you on a date," Molly's gentle brown eyes softened along with her smile.

"No," Evangeline frowned a little. "He asked me out for coffee."

"He asked you out," Molly rose from the table to tend to a customer that had wandered in. "That's a date." 

"It's so not," she glanced after her, muttering to herself. "Is it?" 

With her thoughts, Evangeline finished her coffee and took herself back into the store, perching herself on Sebastian's high stool as she pondered.

She barely knew Leonard from anyone else at the hospital. She'd never really had friends there apart from Sally and that was only because they were in the same vicinity all the time. It seemed a little forwards to her for him to ask her on a date already, but he hadn't actually said the word date. 

Just coffee. After his shift. 

"It's not a date," she muttered to herself as she glanced over at the clock. "But it is quittin' time."

She gathered her things as she heard Molly putting the chairs up on the tables in The Den. She jumped up the stairs to flick off the lamps, made sure no books were left where Sebastian would trip over them and made sure she left a note for him with everything she'd managed to do before she left the keys with Molly, said goodbye and hopped into her car and headed home. 

She changed once she got there into clean jeans and a denim shirt rolled up to her elbows. She left her hair loose, slid her feet into some flat pumps and made herself something to eat before she grabbed her bag and headed over to where she was meeting Leonard. 

With fifteen minutes to spare, she ordered the largest coffee she could and settled in one of the big green armchairs and pulled out a book she'd borrowed from Sebastian's store. So lost she was in the words she never noticed Leonard park up, come in, order and sit across from her.

She only noticed when he quoted what she was reading as she read it. 

"Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken, leave my loneliness unbroken, quit the bust above my door," he drew a deep breath before he continued, his eyes staring at his hands as he remembered the words. "Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door."

"Quoth the raven," she peered over her book as Leonard glanced up at her. "'Nevermore.'"

Evangeline laid down her book and gave a pleasant smile to Leonard, noticing that he'd changed clothes and even ordered his own drink. 

He looked more relaxed and even more human out of scrubs. The gaudy green set had been exchanged for dark blue jeans and a flannel shirt with lines of tan and red woven into it and on his feet instead of the hospital white regulation shoes, he wore beaten up boots.

He looked like something you'd find in the deep south wrangling pigs or cattle; all that was missing was a lasso and a hat. 

"I didn't know you read," she said as she tucked the book back into her bag. 

"Touche," he answered. "It ain't every day you find a lady such as yourself reading the works of Poe." 

"He's a good poet," she said, smiling slightly at his words. "One of my favourites actually."

"Yeah?" Leonard took a sip of his drink; it wasn't a double shot caramel infused something with too much cream and not enough coffee, it was just coffee. "What's your favourite work of his?"

"Search narrowly the lines, they hold a treasure, divine, a talisman, and amulet, they must be worn at heart," she recited from one of her favourites. "It's not my ultimate but it's one of them."

Leonard looked surprised, one eyebrow raised and a slight smile threatening one corner of his lips before he settled back in his seat.

"Well I was just pullin' your leg," he allowed himself to smile. "Just makin' sure you ain't one of them girls who says she likes somethin' just to impress me. You know your stuff, huh?"

"That happen to you a lot?" Evangeline settled into her own seat. "Girls impressin' you and all? Cause from what I hear, you're hard to talk to."

Leonard almost laughed but stopped himself before he leant forwards, grabbed his drink and settled back into his seat.

"I'm jokin'," he said. "You seem to be talkin' to me alright."

"Should I not be?" she asked with a smile. "Am I breaking a law or somethin'?" 

"You can do what you want," Leonard shrugged a shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed on her. "Where in the hell are you from? I can't place that accent, nor have I heard you speak with it before."

"You've not spoken to me often enough to hear it," she smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "You're from the South, right? So am I."

"How South?" he quizzed, leaning forwards. "I'm Georgia South. A place called Walnut Grove."

"Louisiana," she answered. "Shreveport."

"That's real South," he looked surprised once more. "You came out here for work?"

"Study actually," she said. "But I fell in love with the place, moved in with my best friend, wound up at Brooklyn Hospital. You?"

"I studied in Atlanta, worked there for a while," he shrugged one shoulder. "There was an opening up here, better pay, better place to be."

"I hear ya," she took a sip of her coffee. "There's just something about this place."

"When you find it, let me know," Leonard slouched back into his chair again. "You lookin' for a new job?"

"Lookin' yeah," she answered. "No joy though."

"I hope you find somethin' soon," Leonard said it sincerely, his eyes drifting over her as she sat across from him. "Ain't right you leavin', you're one of the best." 

"Oh stop," she batted a hand in his direction and he laughed. "But I know. Thanks."

He gave her a pleasant smile and they chatted for a little while longer before Evangeline caught the time. 

"I gotta head out, I'm sorry," she said grabbing her bag. "My roommate will be home soon, it's my night to cook."

"Oh, so you cook too huh?" Leonard rose with her and fished his car keys from his pocket. 

"I can do a lot of things," she said leading him from the store. 

"I'll bet," he gave her a speculative look and she rolled her eyes but smiled. "Listen, I get the feeling there's more for us to talk about."

"Do you?" Evangeline folded her arms, fighting against the smile on her face.

"I do," Leonard sunk his hands into his pockets. "Say I pick you up at 8 on Saturday and we talk more over dinner?"

"You mean like dinner or dinner?" she said.

"What's the difference?" Leonard asked looking genuinely confused.

"Well ones just dinner," she shrugged one shoulder. "The others a date."

Leonard's cheeks flushed vermillion before he scratched his chin and rocked on his heels with a nervous laugh and smile.

"Well alright then," he said returning his hand to his pocket. "I wasn't gonna be so literal, didn't wanna seem too forwards since we only just met and all."

Evangeline grinned and shrugged her shoulders slightly, toying with her keys as she did so. 

"So, a date then?" Leonard dared to meet her eyes.

"I'd like that," Evangeline looked at her feet and glanced up to him with a smile. "Hang on."

She fished a biro out of her bag and grabbed Leonard's arm, taking him by surprise. Her fingers held his elbow in a gentle grasp as she gently wrote eleven digits down the length of his forearm. 

"Text me," she said as she dropped the pen back into her bag. "I'll get your number that way. Then I'll text you my address." 

Leonard glanced at his arm and the neat numbers before he nodded with a smile. They parted ways and said goodnight as Leonard rounded the corner and Evangeline found her way to her car.


	5. Chapter 5

The following morning Evangeline awoke content and comfortable in her own bed. There was no sun streaming in through the curtains but as she turned and peered through the gap in them, she saw the dull overcast day outside. 

She listened for a moment for Abigail wandering the apartment but the place was so quiet she could probably hear a pin drop. Abigail wasn't home then, probably at work which meant it was some time after 9. 

She was due at The Raconteur at 10:30 and when she looked at the time on her phone she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was only 9:17am. Dragging herself up, she took a shower, dried her hair and settled at the kitchen table wrapped in the towel.

She made herself a coffee and sat in a contemplative silence. Today was Thursday, Leonard was picking her up on Saturday. For a date. She'd never really been on many dates. The significant other had either been too forwards, too boring or just really, too desperate. 

Leonard on the other hand, had been nothing but nice. He wasn't as grumpy as the staff at the hospital made him out to me. He didn't sneer, he wasn't cruel or aggressive. She wasn't sure why she'd say she'd like the date; not that she wouldn't and not that she'd said it because she felt sorry for him, she just wasn't sure why she'd said it so soon. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, she finished up her coffee and took herself to her room to change. An oversized plum jumper slouched off of her left shoulder, pulled over a black tank top, skinny black jeans and roughed up plum coloured Converse. 

Leaving her hair loose and her make up minimal, she grabbed her phone and keys and left, firing up the Camaro and heading to the place of her unpaid work. 

Sebastian had already opened up and Evangeline saw people to-ing and fro-ing out of The Den. She parked behind Sebastian's Pontiac and climbed out, locked up the car and headed inside. 

It was in the lows for September and a chill filled the air. Goosebumps prickled Evangeline's arms but as soon as she headed into the aged store, she felt warm; the place was homely and the smell was comforting. 

Sebastian glanced up from the book he was reading when he heard the bell chime over the door. He sat awkwardly with one leg stretched across his desk, the other idly hanging from the stool he was perched on. 

His hair needed washing, his fringe greasy where his hands had run through it to keep it away from his glasses, the rest of his hair sticking up and out at odd angles. 

His cardigan today was canary yellow and sky blue with pulls and threads hanging from its sleeves and holes starting to show in the elbows. Paired with a green Pink Floyd shirt and turned up black jeans with sneakers that matched Evangeline's, he was positively blinding.

With a sly smile, he watched Evangeline cross the store to his desk before he sat on the stool properly and leant forwards on crossed arms, his glasses precariously perched on the end of his nose.

She gave a frown and looked over the stack of books on the left of his desk before she looked back to him to find the same smile on his face, his deep blue eyes scrutinizing her.

"Okay," she said slowly as she crossed her arms. "What."

Sebastian's smile grew a little and he mirrored her crossed arms as he sat up and looked at her over the top of his glasses. 

"How was your date?" he grinned. 

She stared him out for a moment or so, refusing to answer the question before she dumped her things behind his desk and leant on it beside him. 

"It wasn't a date," she said, her arms still crossed as she looked at her shoes.

"No?" Sebastian teased. 

"No," she glanced at him. 

"But you were out!" he slid from the stool and stood up, towering almost a good foot over her. "With a boy."

"So you go out with Molly all the time," she looked up at him as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Are you guys dating? No."

"But you like him," Sebastian retaliated. "Molly said so."

"I bet she didn't," Eva turned to the desk, organizing bits of paper that were for who knows what. "And I don't."

"Liar liar pants on fire," Sebastian poked her in the side. "It's fundamentally impossible not to swoon over hot doctors."

"He's a surgeon," she corrected him absently. "And he's not hot, more handsome."

"Ha!" Sebastian slapped a large hand down on the desk making Evangeline jump. "Gotcha."

"You know," she gathered together a pile of papers and dropped them in the empty trash can by the staircase. "You're insufferable."

"And I love you too," he cooed sarcastically as Eva flipped him off on her way through into The Den. 

Molly gave her a smile and held up two fingers, indicating she'd be with her in a moment. She found an empty table by the window, The Den was brighter than The Raconteur and it stung her eyes a little but she sat down all the same and waited for Molly. 

She came over with two cups of coffee when her customers were all settled and sat across from Evangeline who thanked her.

"Don't say the D word," Eva hung her head and inhaled the rich smell of the coffee. "Seb already scalded me good."

Molly laughed, her smile soft and the sound waiflike and gentle before she glanced over her shoulder into The Raconteur, spotting Sebastian nodding along to The Rolling Stones as he alphabetized the history books by his desk. 

"He only cares," she smiled, turning back to Eva.

"Is that what we're calling it now?" she raised a brow with a smile of her own. "I'm sure it's some kind of torture." 

Molly laughed again before she took a drink of her coffee and settled comfortably into her chair; there was a lull of custom in this hour so she really had nothing more to do.

"So really, how was it?" she asked. "Was he nice?"

Eva took a big slug of her coffee and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand before she looked at Molly. They weren't best friends but they were both girls and she hadn't really had a chance to catch Abigail to talk since she'd been at work and Eva was helping in the store. 

"It was great," she nodded slowly. "He's a good guy."

"He's a good guy?" Molly said sarcastically. "Eva..."

"Alright," she whined, putting her head on the table. "He's great. He reads, Molly. He's from this tiny little place in Georgia and he makes my dumb Louisiana twang go all weird."

Molly smiled so wide and bright that Eva could see her teeth and she groaned once more, burying her head in her arms.

"Don't make this a thing," she glanced up. "I mean he's great, really he is, but I reserve judgment. You know my track record with guys."

"Yeah," Molly rolled her eyes. "You're too picky."

"And they're too desperate," Eva defended herself. 

And they were. There'd been Chuck; a writer, a man with a way with words but a man who was too clingy and Eva hated it. There'd been Greg, an NYPD officer with too little time on his hands for her so he went too and there'd been an Aiden; aspiring artist, broke and far too flamboyant with his relationship choices. 

"Are you seeing him again?" Molly enquired as she stood and collected their now empty cups as Eva followed her to the counter.

"Yeah," she said hesitantly. "Saturday night."

"So, a date?" Molly asked, sliding behind the counter. 

Eva nodded, feeling her cheeks warm as she remembered Leonard asking her outside the coffee shop last night.

"He said we had more to talk about," Eva said, tracing patterns on the counter surface. "Over dinner."

"Oh a proper date!" Molly's eyes lit up and Eva shook her head. "I bet he takes you some place fancy; I bet he has a lot of money being a surgeon and all."

"I ain't thinking about that," Eva gave a light laugh and peeled herself away from the counter. "Listen, I better go help Seb. Thanks."

"For?" Molly asked, with a genuine look of confusion. 

"This weird little talk," she smiled. "I haven't had a chance to sit down with Abigail for a while."

"Anytime," Molly grinned. "I wanna know all about this date though!"

"Something tells me you'll be at our apartment when he gets there," she sighed with a hint of a tiny smile. "I'll catch you in a little while."

Molly gave a little wave and Eva headed back into the shop to find Sebastian leaning over the balcony with a book in his hands. 

"What you doing up there Juliet?" Eva called up with a grin across her face. 

"Funny," Sebastian peered over the book and beckoned her up. "You gonna come help me tidy theses books?"

"Sure," Eva scaled the staircase taking care not to trip over the books or the lamp and met Seb at the top. "Alphabetizing?"

"You got it," Sebastian took a seat on the floor in front of one shelf and Eva sat beside him at another. "So, in all seriousness, no jokes, who is this guy you went on a date with?"

"It wasn't a date," Eva said, pulling a handful of dusty books from the shelf. "It was just coffee with a guy from work. He's called Leonard, he was Kirk's surgeon, Kirk was my patient." 

"That sounds like a plotline from a soap," Seb snorted a laugh and stacked up some books. "But carry on."

"There's nothing to really say," Eva shrugged one shoulder as she took some more books from the shelf. "He's a surgeon, he's from Georgia and I guess he's kinda nice."

"You said handsome," Sebastian nudged her with a small smile. 

"Seb," she sighed deeply and he turned to look at her. "Don't."

"I know, I'm sorry," he said, thumbing the pages of the books in his hands. "I just think it might be good for you right now to go out and have fun." 

"I'm okay y'know," she said putting some books on the shelf. 

"I don't want you to be just okay," he said standing a stack of books sideways on the shelf. "Eva, I want you to be happy. Losing your job sucks, I get that. Don't be miserable about it, don't think you can't do other things. You said yes to seeing that guy for a reason, see him again."

She didn't much get to see this side of Sebastian, the side that didn't joke and the side that really ultimately cared. He never showed this side in front of anyone else, the way he was now was part of a special bond the pair had.

"I uh, already am," she said, stacking a few more books. "Saturday night. He said he felt like we had more to talk about. Over dinner."

"Well look at you," Seb turned to her with a toothy grin, his glasses crooked on his face before she straightened them up for him. "Do you think you've got more to talk about?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "We get on well I guess."

"Don't guess," Seb nudged her once again. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Something tells me you will on Saturday," she rolled her eyes as she started on the next shelf down.

"Damn straight," he nodded. "I want to see Cinderella go to the ball."

Eva groaned and slapped Seb on the arm before he wrapped one around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"I care about you Eva," he gently rubbed her arm. "I just want you to be happy."

"I know Seb," she pecked his cheek lightly and stood, squeezing his shoulder as she moved some books to the shelf above him. "I know."


	6. Chapter 6

Evangeline was right in thinking that the others would be at their apartment on the Saturday. Abigail was off work and would be until Monday and she, Molly and Sebastian slouched in the living space as Eva dismantled her wardrobe looking for clothing options for the pending evening. 

"Look fancy!" Abigail called into her room. "Like Molly said, he's probably taking you somewhere fancy with all that money!"

"But don't look too fancy," Sebastian leant over the back of the sofa and looked into her room, his arms dangling and his fingers almost touching the floor. "Because you know, he might just take you for a burger or something."

"You guys are so helpful," she glowered at the blonde and dived back into her wardrobe. 

It was going to be a slightly chilly evening and there was a threat of rain according to the weather report. She huffed and perched on the edge of her bed, looking over the few selected garments she'd pulled out. 

A dress was out of the question, she didn't want to be bitterly cold with most of her skin on show and when she thought about what Leonard would think, she threw the few dresses she'd picked out straight back into the wardrobe along with the skirts.

"So no girly stuff, huh?" Sebastian was still hung over the back of the sofa watching her. 

"No," she stared at her closet. "Too cold."

"You could still wear heels," he suggested. "And something flouncy in a shirt?"

"Who are you?" she glanced to him with a quirked brow. "Sebastian or Samantha?"

A chorus of laughter filled the living area as Molly and Abigail fell about laughing and Sebastian threw the newspaper at them that'd been laid on the coffee table. 

Leonard would be here in a little over an hour and she'd still not showered and she was all but ready to rip out her hair and scream; dressing for a date had never been this hard before. Maybe Sebastian was onto something when he said she'd said yes for a reason. 

She grabbed a slither of red from her wardrobe and her best jeans before taking herself into the bathroom and showering. She dried and styled her hair whilst she was in there letting it fall in thick, natural waves before she pulled on her clothes. 

The top was sleeveless and made of wine red chiffon with a hollowed out, crocheted panel on the front and her jeans were skin tight and plain black. When she was dressed she tended to her make up; neutral powder, smoky eyes and a deep red lip to match her shirt. 

When she was dressed she hurried back to her room and dug out the shoes bag and jacket she wanted but she was out of time and still not ready when a knock came at the door. 

"I'll get it," Sebastian goaded, but Evangeline all but sprinted from her room and glowered at Sebastian as she got to the door. 

"I got it," she turned to him as she seized the doorknob.

The three of them craned their necks to see, all now perched on the sofa that faced the door. With a shake of her head and a silent prayer to God that they didn't act up, she opened the door and came face to face with Leonard who gave her a small smile when he saw her. 

"I wasn't sure I had the right place," he admitted. "You look nice."

"Thanks," she tried to fight the smile from her face and failed. "Come on in, I ain't wholly ready yet."

She stepped to the side so he could pass and he stepped into the apartment as she closed the door behind him. Sebastian, Molly and Abigail seemed dumbstruck for a moment and Leonard looked slightly uncomfortable until Eva told him he could sit down.

"Sorry to spring this on you," she apologized. "They sometimes hang out here."

"I live here," Abigail shot her a look before it softened. "Well, I do when I'm not at work."

"Which seems to be always," Eva nudged her elbow where she sat on the sofa arm as Leonard looked between the two girls. "Leonard, this is Abigail, she's my roommate."

Leonard smiled pleasantly at the petite girl beside Evangeline. She had a pretty, rounded face and rosy pink cheeks that were framed by a head of thick, brown hair that curled at the ends, making it look like her hair bounced from her shoulders. 

"Pleased to meet you," Abigail stood up and held out a hand to Leonard. "Can I get you a drink or something while you wait?"

He took her hand and it was soft and warm in his own and as he declined her offer, his hazel eyes met her soft browns and he gave a charming smile. 

"No, thank you," he said. "I'm sure Evangeline won't be so long."

"Famous last words," Abigail called over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen. 

"She's kiddin'," Eva sighed before she smiled at Molly. "This is Molly, she's Abigail's girlfriend."

Leonard's eyes widened a little as he looked to the second brown eyed girl who's hair was up in a long, straight and shining ponytail. She looked sweet, her skin fair and her figure skinny as a twig.

"So lovely to meet you," Molly shook his hand. "Eva told me all about you."

"No, I didn't," Eva felt her cheeks warm before Molly joined Abigail in the kitchen. 

"I'm sure you did," Leonard gave her a crooked smile. 

"She did," Sebastian rose from his seat, his tall frame towering over Leonard as he crossed to where he was sat. "I heard her. She even told me you were handsome; she's not wrong."

Leonard looked lost for a moment as Sebastian perched himself on the arm and looked over the tanned Georgian with his deep blue eyes. 

"Leonard meet..." Eva started.

"Sebastian," the blonde fired him the brightest smile he'd ever seen in his life. "But you can call me Seb."

"You can call yourself an ambulance if you don't knock it off," Eva gave him a warning look and Sebastian grinned at her before she looked to Leonard. "Sebastian owns The Raconteur on Bergen Street, Molly works in The Den."

"Really? No way," Leonard looked up to the blonde still perched on the arm. "I keep meanin' to stop by there sometime, it looks nice."

"Well, now you have a reason to," Sebastian gave a coy smile. "And I don't mean Evangeline."

"Knock it off Seb," Eva rolled her eyes before she looked at Leonard. "Give me two seconds to grab my stuff and we can leave, okay?"

"Okay," Leonard nodded and watched as Eva dipped into her room. 

She pulled on high heeled ankle boots, a leather jacket and slung a velvet covered messenger bag in black over her shoulder before she re-emerged into the living room to find Abigail asking Leonard about his job and Molly and Sebastian listening intently. 

"Um," Eva cleared her throat as she stood by the front door. "I'm ready to go if you are."

Leonard pulled himself from the chair and Eva noticed his clothes and congratulated herself for not going too overboard. He wore jeans and boots again, but this time his shirt was long sleeved and checked black and white. His chin held a little stubble and his hair was a little mussed; she thought he looked a little rugged and she liked that just fine.

"You have her home by ten," Abigail grinned at him. "You hear me?"

"I hear ya," Leonard gave a curt nod and a bright smile. "I'll take good care of her."

"You better," Sebastian peered at him over the top of his glasses and Eva gabbed his wrist and pulled him through the door. 

"I'm sorry about that," she said, pulling her jacket straight. "They were just real excited to meet you."

"How come?" he asked, leading her down the staircase. 

"Don't take it the wrong way," she drew a breath. "I don't date much; it's like Christmas to them when I say I'm seein' someone."

"But you said yes to me," Leonard held the door open for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Any reason why?"

The air outside was cold and a slight wind rustled the dead leaves around the sidewalk and pulled the ends of Eva's hair making it dance around her shoulders. Leonard stopped beside her, hands in his pockets and waited for his answer.

"I like you," she said in a small voice. "It's cliche but you're different."

"I am?" he frowned as he turned to look right at her.

"In a good way," she assured him. "You're really easy to get on with."

"Kid," Leonard led her down the street to where he'd parked his car; a beautiful white Porsche Cayanne and Eva thought that maybe he was a little richer than she'd been imagining. "You'd be the first to say so."

Smiling to herself, she climbed into the car as Leonard opened the door for her and wondered how anyone else could find getting on with Leonard so difficult.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have been out of action for so long I really cannot believe it.   
> I really wanted to work on this AU some more instead of leaving it hanging; I'm so in love with Sebastian's character in this and I recently found my original ideas sheet for the story in general.   
> I might not update every day but I'm eager to at least update once a week! 
> 
> Feedback is always welcome and I really hope you guys are still with me on this one!

Leonard took her to a quaint little bistro close to the East River. She'd been past it a couple of times and always meant to go in but never really quite got the chance. They ate and chatted about the hospital, reminisced about Kirk and then headed out for a walk along the East River. 

To say they were so close to New York City, the area around them seemed calm and quiet. They both walked with their hands in their pockets, the sound of the breeze and the scuff of their feet the only immediate sounds they could hear. 

"So," Leonard was the first to speak, drawing a cool breath into his lungs. "Why New York?"

He gestured across the East River to the glittering city on the other side. They were close to Brooklyn Bridge, lit up in all her wondrous glory, the light reflecting into the steady current of the river below. 

Eva's eyes followed to where Leonard was nodding to and she smiled when she saw the lights across the water. Something felt homely about the hustle and bustle of the city, the same way something felt homely about Sebastian's dusty old store; it felt like belonging. 

"Good place of study," she said as they slowed to a stroll. 

"So is Michigan," Leonard dared to look at her. "Washington, Chicago. But you chose New York."

"Ah, you want 'the story'," she gave a grin. 

Leonard cracked a smile and gave a laugh and Evangeline stopped to lean over the railings separating the path from the waters edge. She glanced down the river to Brooklyn Bridge, then straight across to Lower Manhattan, her eyes full of delight. 

"In movie terms," she swung her legs behind her as she looked down at the water and Leonard watched. "Small town girl, big city adventure."

"Ah you're the walkin' cliché type," Leonard nodded slowly with a grin of his own. "Louisiana ain't that bad, surely."

"I wouldn't know," she shrugged. "Bon Temps was pretty dull. My older brother left home at 21, he's still in Shreveport. I came here when I was 23, I put in for a transfer from Baton Rouge to Brooklyn. I couldn't stand it anymore."

"You were a nurse at 23?" Leonard frowned. 

"Care nurse," she corrected him. "I didn't start my proper nursing studies until I got here. I was trained by Sally and Doctor Puri before he decided he hated me. D Wing was mine."

"Huh," Leonard mused. "Y'know, I don't know how old you are. You could be 21 for all I know." 

"And yet, you dived in head first," she turned, pressing her back into the railings and turned her head towards Leonard. "Go on, guess. I won't be offended."

"You say that," Leonard gave her a look but she shoved him with a laugh.

"Guess!" she said. 

"I don't know," he sighed deeply. "Maybe 23 or 24?"

He grimaced waiting for her to be seriously offended, of course if she was only that age Leonard was punching well above his weight, but she laughed some more and turned back to face the city with her arms folded on the railings. 

"That's quite the compliment," she said when she'd stopped laughing enough. "I'm 26. Actually almost 27."

"Well hell," Leonard looked her over when she turned to face him. "You had me fooled."

"Why?" she raised a brow at him with a mischievous smile. "You like the younger woman?"

"That all depends on whether she likes the older man," he said, standing a little closer to her.

"How old we talkin'?" she said pulling herself from the railings to stand facing him. "Like ancient or just older?" 

It was Leonard's turn to look mischievous as he folded his arms and looked down on her five foot something frame.

"Guess," he drawled in his accent.

"Aw come on," she smiled. "You're like 25. 26 at a push." 

"I'm 28," he said, smiling with one corner of his lips. "I'm 29 next month."

"Damn," she said. "You are old."

"Hey!" he laughed, shoving her gently. "I ain't that old."

Eva shrugged one shoulder as she thought about it and Leonard moved to push her again, only this time she caught his wrist and held it. He stiffened slightly as she held it in her grasp, his other arm hovering by her hip, his eyes darting all over her face.

"Evangeline I don't wanna..." he said but she interrupted him.

"Eva," she said. "You can call me Eva." 

"Eva," he corrected himself as his hand came to rest lightly on her hip as her other hand placed itself on his chest. "I don't wanna ruin this by goin' too fast. I like you."

Her fingers tightened ever so slightly on his wrist and she felt Leonard's fingers delicately squeeze the flesh on her hip through her clothes. 

"It's okay," she said in an almost whisper. "You can."

She let go of his wrist as he leant his head down to meet her height, but his lips paused before hers, almost like he was thinking of bailing. Eva brought her arm up to his shoulder, her fingertips trialing at his neck before he closed the space, delicately placing his lips to hers. 

Leonard's hand reached to the back of her neck, his gentle, deft fingers moving through the waves of thick brown hair on her head. What started out gentle became rougher, his lips parting hers. She could feel his heart racing beneath his rib cage where she had her hand on his chest and she swore she could taste the Georgia sun. 

They broke apart and Leonard held her in shaking arms for a moment before she smiled and took his hand. She stood up on tip toes and pecked his stubble covered cheek before she pulled his arm in the direction she wanted to go with her fingers entwined around his. 

"Come on," she grinned over her shoulder. "Lets walk some more."

Before Leonard could even catch his breath and register the kiss, he was stumbling over his own feet after her, his cheeks pink and his heart still racing. 

Eva had told him he was different and now she was different too. 

Leonard's dates had never lasted more than the first night. They either talked too much or too little or they just genuinely bored him to tears. He'd only dated New York women since he'd gotten here, he'd never been lucky enough to stumble across someone who wasn't native to this place or just visiting. 

Eva had been the proverbial needle in the haystack, the diamond in the ruff, the one thing he'd been wanting for so long. Her smile had been the thing to win him over, the thing that had forced the words from his brain to his lips to her ears and he didn't regret a single thing.

Her pretty green eyes and her southern tones were the things making him fall wholly head over heels paired with her eclectic personality and fashion sense and he knew he wanted to see her again.

"Eva?" he absently squeezed her hand as they strolled quietly, admiring the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance. 

"Hm?" she smiled at him. 

"Can I take you out again?" he asked. "Maybe next week?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she said as she stopped and turned to him, taking both his hands in hers. "Of course you can."

She pecked him on the cheek once again and he grinned to himself, a jolt of warmth and happiness running through his system as she took his hand once again.

"We should head back," she said with a slight chatter of her teeth. "It's turning real cold."

With a nod, Leonard let go of her hand and placed his arm across her shoulders instead, holding her close to him as they walked back the way they came.


	8. Chapter 8

When Evangeline returned home that night, the apartment was empty. There was no Sebastian, no Molly and certainly no Abigail and she knew Abigail had gone to Molly's in hopes Evangeline would bring Leonard back here.

But she hadn't. She'd left him in the car where it was warm, sweetly kissed him goodnight and hurried up to the warmth of the shared apartment. Leonard had left with a large smile on his face and the promise that he'd sort something out for the pending date and Evangeline flopped onto the sofa, unable to pull the grin from her lips.

It was past midnight when she finally crawled into bed and almost 11am when she woke the next morning. She had to be at Sebastian's store for 12pm; he always opened later on a Sunday.

She dragged herself up and showered quickly before pulling on ripped skinny jeans, an off the shoulder jumper with long sleeves and her sneakers. She fastened up her hair, applied minimal make up, grabbed her bag and left the apartment before jumping in her car and hotfooting it over to Bergen Street where she parked in her usual spot behind Sebastian's Pontiac. 

She grabbed her things and stepped out before she made her way into The Raconteur; Sebastian was playing The Cure today and Sebastian was also nowhere to be seen. The Den had one or two customers and Molly and Abigail sat at their own table chatting.

Eva bypassed the arc that led to the coffee half and dumped her things behind Sebastian's desk before she heard the rattle of the beaded curtain behind her that led down into the vinyl vault. Not for one second did she believe she was going to get away with being 20 questioned about her date, she just didn't think it would start this early. 

"You look tired," Sebastian perched himself on his stool, looking at her through his glasses. "Busy night?"

Eva's eyes raked over the blonde seeing threads and pulls in his cardigan and scuffs on his shoes and wrinkles in the shirt he was wearing and shook her head minutely; she was sure only Sebastian could make shabby look chic because on anyone else, it looked like they'd just gotten out of bed.

At least he'd finally washed his hair. It sat like a golden halo on his head, the shorter bits standing up on their own and looking feather soft to the touch. 

"Late night, actually," she said, shoving her bangs from her eyes. 

"Up all night were you?" Sebastian shoved his glasses up his nose with a smirk. 

"No," she said, moving away from his desk. "I slept just fine."

"You know sometimes," Sebastian rested his bony elbows on the desk and put his chin in his hands. "You're real hard work."

"Well you ask real dumb questions," she glanced back at him. "You ain't too forward thinking."

"Did he stay the night?" he asked. "That more forwards and easily understandable for you?" 

"No, he didn't," she said strolling into The Den where Molly and Abigail threw her a wave and motioned for her to sit with them as Sebastian caught her up. "He went back home."

Molly got up to make two more coffees and brought them over as Sebastian and Evangeline took the two empty seats.

"So," Abigail looked at her expectantly with her hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Tell all."

Molly was grinning and even Sebastian was on the edge of his seat with excitement. She glanced at all three of them and sighed deeply.

"We went to a Bistro on the East River," she shrugged one shoulder. "It was all decorated in fairy lights and it was a cute little place. We ate, we talked some more about Georgia and Louisiana and then we walked down one of the promenades by the river."

Eva was sure she'd given something away in her face because Sebastian was giving her the look he gave when he knew more than you were letting on. 

"It sounds like a fairy tale," Molly looked doe eyed.

"No," Abigail brushed her hand with her own. "It sounds like New York."

Eva rolled her eyes and glanced at Sebastian out of the corner of her eye; he still had that look and it was growing into a mischievous smile.

"And what happened on this walk?" he leant slightly forwards, his glasses balancing on the end of his nose. "Because you're not telling us something."

Abigail and Molly looked to Evangeline and she slid down in her chair, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

"We kissed," she shrugged one shoulder to show it was no big deal. 

"What like on the cheek or on the lips?" Abigail leant closer to her. 

"Lips," she answered. "He said he didn't want to move so fast but I said it was okay if he wanted to. And you know something else? He's 29 next month."

"You did always like the older man," Sebastian pointed out but she kicked him under the table. "Good kisser?"

"You know, there's just some things you don't tell other people," she looked at him. "This is one of them."

"I could always find out for myself," Sebastian raised a blonde brow and smirked.

"Insufferable," she shook her head and Molly and Abigail laughed.

"I'm kidding, he's not my type," Sebastian picked at his fingernails. "Too rugged and tan for me."

"Yeah, you like the pale and the weak," Eva folded her arms and Sebastian smiled.

"Listen, I would've called but I wanted to hear about your date," Sebastian stood from the table and tucked his chair under. "I don't really need you today because there's nothing to do, Molly either. I can run this place on my own, you know Sundays are pretty slack. Why don't you head out with the girls?"

"You sure?" Eva quirked a brow and Sebastian held up his hands. 

"Cross my heart," he said sincerely. "Oh and before I forget, I found this bar the other night on my way back from picking up take out. It's called Barcade, it's a couple blocks over on Union Avenue, you fancy hitting it up tonight?"

Abigail nodded enthusiastically and Molly said yes, leaving the final decision to Eva. If she didn't have to work in the store today she wouldn't be too tired later on.

"Sure," she smiled. "Sounds fun. Where do you wanna meet?"

"You can come up to my apartment say 6ish?" Sebastian shrugged. "We'll catch a cab, not really fair to appoint a designated driver for a few blocks."

"Sounds great Seb," Abigail and Molly rose from their seats and Molly went to collect her things. "We'll see you later."

Abigail strolled off to accompany Molly and Eva walked with Seb back into the store to grab her bag from where she'd dumped it behind the desk.

"You sure you don't need me?" she looked up to the tall blonde and he smiled softly.

"I'm sure," he gave a nod. "Go have some fun; Abigail wants to head into the city anyway. It's been ages since you last went."

"Seb..." she protested.

"Go," he gave her a pearly white grin and nodded to the door.

"Thanks," she stood up on her toes and pecked his cheek before she followed the others out of the door. "We'll see you around 6."

Sebastian threw them a wave and settled behind his desk, picking up a book he'd already made a sizable dent in as he listened to The Cure play overhead. 

For a long while, he sat comfortably behind the counter, his long, thin legs, slung over the surface between a precariously placed stack of books and the cash register that was nothing more than a lockable tin box. The book he was reading still captivated his attention, his large hands holding either side of the book as he intently read. 

The bell above the door chimed, but Sebastian’s attention never strayed from the book, he usually just left his customers to browse freely and if they wanted something in particular, they’d ask. He flipped several pages as he listened to the footsteps echo around the shop; across the floor in front of him, up the hollow staircase beside him and he was surprised he could hear them over the sound of the currently playing record because they sounded so light. 

He listened some more as the footsteps drew closer to his desk before someone gently cleared their throat, prompting Sebastian to unhappily put down his book and tend to whatever it was that they wanted. 

For a mere moment as Sebastian tossed the book aside, he became dumbfounded by the man that stood before him. He was lean and handsome if not a little awkward looking with a tuft of soft looking panther black hair and deep brown eyes that regarded him through a pair of round framed tortoiseshell glasses. 

Untangling his legs from their current crossed state, Sebastian almost toppled the stack of books to his left as he attempted to sit up straight and look at the man before him; despite the rustic and aged look of the rest of the shop, he found himself half tidying up the small desk space he occupied where papers were still strewn all over it; Eva had only tidied the other day. 

“Can I help you?” Sebastian asked as he stuffed a pile of papers beneath the table into the trash can by his stool. 

“I hope so,” the man answered with a northern Irish twang and Sebastian’s fingers curled around the edge of the desk; it was all he could do to stop him falling from the high stool in surprise. “I’m looking for a couple of specific books. Do you have anything on the Jurassic era?”

Sebastian wanted to give a frown or a laugh because it seemed like the man was pulling his leg. From the looks of him he looked younger than Sebastian, give or take a year or three and the blonde wondered why he was after books on dinosaurs; Sebastian wasn't even sure he had any books on dinosaurs, then again, Sebastian wasn't wholly sure what half the books he was selling were about. 

Pulling himself out from behind the desk, Sebastian crossed the shop floor with the other man behind him and congratulated himself for not wearing a vision destroying arrangement of colour on his cardigan today. In fact, he seemed quite tame; a black and plumb striped cardigan hung loose on his shoulders, covering over a black and lilac plaid shirt that looked like it was in need of a good iron. He wore dark denim jeans and well worn, tan leather brogues without socks along with his usual thick, square framed glasses that were forever in danger of falling from his nose. 

His nimble fingertips trailed a line of spines on a shelf as his blonde brow frowned over his cerulean eyes. There were no books that he could see on the shelf, so he wandered up the staircase with the other man trailing behind.

No luck there either, but he figured there might be a few lurking in the still fastened up boxes that littered the place and he walked back down the staircase and back behind his desk as the man once more followed him. 

He turned to him, facing him over his desk to see he'd been waiting patiently, his hands sunk into the pockets of a cream coloured trench coat that half covered a thin, white t-shirt with a plunging neckline showing off an expanse of paled skin stretched over a bony breastbone. 

Awkwardly, Sebastian’s eyes dropped to the floor to avoid anymore constant staring at that particular piece of skin and he noticed the man’s dark tan Chelsea boots and the tight, dark jeans that had been turned up at the bottom. 

Quickly looking back up and figuring he ought to say something, Sebastian pushed his too long blonde fringe out of his face and pulled out a pen and pushed a pad towards him. 

“At the minute I can’t see that we have any books of the kind in,” he informed him, trying to consult some papers on his desk and not the man’s chest. “But I’ll be having a clear out soon; there are numerous boxes that have never been opened. So if you want to leave a number or an e-mail I can get you on, I can let you know if I find anything.” 

“Would you?” the man said, lifting a perfectly shaped black eyebrow as he removed his hands from his pockets. “The stores in the city are far too expensive; this is the only independent store I know of around these parts.”

Sebastian felt himself smiling with a sense of pride; it was true, Sebastian did own the only independent bookstore around here and the people that lived in the area loved the little nook of aged and old books and spoke highly of the staff that ran the place. 

The man lifted the pen and began to scrawl a name, number and e-mail address whilst Sebastian pulled the already stretched sleeves of his cardigan down over his knuckles and toyed with the loose threads that tumbled from the inside sleeves. 

“If you can’t get me on any of these,” the man turned the pad around to Sebastian with the pen laid atop. “Call direct to the Natural History Museum over in New York City and ask for me. Thanks for your help.”

The man gave the smallest hint of a smile and pushed his round framed glasses up his nose before he left with Sebastian trying desperately not to watch after him. Once he was sure he was out of the store and out of sight, Sebastian brushed the pen aside and looked at the scrawl on the page.

‘Professor James Moriarty – Curator of Jurassic Artifacts, Natural History Museum, New York City.’

Sebastian’s jaw almost hit the floor when he read the word professor; the gangly man that had just been stood before him looked nothing of the sort apart from the glasses and if that was all he had to go on, then Sebastian must be a professor too. 

However, never one to judge a book by its cover, Sebastian tore out the name, number and e-mail and tucked it somewhere for safekeeping, hoping that somewhere in the dust and danger of the perilously stacked books and the aged boxes still to be unpacked, there would be one or two books on dinosaurs that he could gladly inform James of. 

If not, Sebastian wouldn’t put it past himself to go out and purchase one or two and make them look like they’d been sat in the boxes of the store for a long while. He might not have been sure whether he had the books or not, but one thing he was sure of was that he wanted to see James again.


	9. Chapter 9

Stopping off at Molly's on the way home from New York City, they waited for her to get changed before the three of them headed back to Jackson Street so Eva and Abigail could change. 

Abigail pulled on a skirt and sweater with pumps that had pointed toes and left her hair loose whist Eva opted for black ripped jeans with frays in the thighs and knees, turned down military boots with tartan lining and a Pink Floyd shirt that slipped slightly off of her shoulder, showing off her prominent collarbones. 

When they were all ready, they headed over to Sebastian's place by cab and with the spare key he'd given Molly, they let themselves into the store. Abigail and Molly went ahead up the staircase and through the door that led to Sebastian's apartment but Eva hung back, taking in the silence of the place that was lit now by only one solitary lamp on Sebastian's desk. 

She felt like she was in a library she'd only read about, where strange and magical things happened. The neon sign flickered above the door for the vinyl vault and dust motes danced and drifted around the lamplight as she clambered the staircase that creaked underfoot. 

After her moments peace, she came face to face with Sebastian's ramshackle apartment above the store. His living room was awash with bright coloured throws and cushions, his coffee table littered with poetry books from Plath and Bukowski. A pile of records sat in a corner and on a shelf beside the television a book case was full to bursting with all his favorite books. 

Abigail and Molly were settled on the sofa and Eva made her way into the kitchen where she could hear Sebastian rattling around.

"I'll be two seconds," he promised. "I just gotta find some shoes."

Sebastian looked incredibly tame and actually quite handsome; no garish colours covered his body. A denim shirt clung to his torso with a too big plain black cardigan slung over the top matched to plain black jeans. 

As he passed Eva to get to his room, she got a strong smell of cleanliness, not the usual dust and old book smell. 

A moment later Sebastian appeared with his favourite Tom's on and called the other three to join him if they were ready. 

"I've never heard of this bar before," Molly said when they were in the cab. 

"Me either," Abigail agreed as Sebastian grinned at them both. "Have you Eva?"

Eva frowned a little; something about the name was familiar but she'd never been in before, she didn't even know there was a bar on Union Avenue. 

"I don't think so," she said as the cab rolled to a stop and Sebastian paid. "It doesn't look familiar anyway." 

The place didn't even really look like a bar. A bright blue neon sign displayed the name Barcade with an arrow pointing down a set of metal stairs. Abigail led the way, followed by Molly with Sebastian and Eva trailing behind. 

When they stepped inside, all four of them were pleasantly surprised. The walls were bare brick red and the place was illuminated by tea lights on tables and the odd large hanging light. There was a small stage for bands to play to the back of the place and an empty space in front for people to dance. The tables had been arranged in a wide arc around the stage and to the right of them as they stood at the entrance, they discovered why the bar was called Barcade.

Filling up a corner lining the walls were age old arcade games like Asteroids and Pac-Man, even several pinball machines that some patrons were playing. The bar itself was almost the length of the right side of the place and the walls behind it were boarded out in chalk board displaying what they sold and the prices. 

At the front of the bar were numerous beer taps, each displaying a different name and behind the bar on wooden shelves the spirits and mixers were displayed, each glass bottle gleaming under the lights of the bar. 

The three of them wandered to a table near to the stage and Eva and Sebastian offered to go up and get the drinks when Abigail and Molly told them what they wanted. 

"So?" Sebastian asked, perching himself on one of the bar stools as they waited to be served. "What do you think?"

"I like it," Eva smiled as she looked around the place. "Kinda rustic, I love the arcade." 

She nodded to the far right of the bar where the games were lit up and Sebastian chuckled a little. Eva pulled herself up onto a stool beside Sebastian as he ordered what they wanted from one of the bar men who made the drinks right in front of them. 

Eva paid little mind to the man who was shaking cocktails and pouring liquor and consulted her fingernails as Sebastian watched the man intently. A moment later, her space was invaded and it wasn't by the barman making the drinks. 

"Something I can get for you?" 

Eva stopped picking at her fingernails and froze for a moment; the voice was eerily familiar. There was a pair of folded arms on the bar top in front of her and she slowly lifted her gaze before her green eyes widened in surprise. 

The owner of the voice stood upright in surprise, gaping at Eva with an open mouth and bright, wide blue eyes as Sebastian glanced to his side and caught sight of the pair. 

Eva's brow furrowed and she leant forwards slightly as she studied the other man and the man mirrored her stance, his cerulean stare narrowing with a quirk of a smirk on his lips.

"Kirk?" she questioned.

"Nurse Northman," he said smoothly. "Can I get you a drink?"

"She's got one," Sebastian slid her glass to her and gave her a look but she shook her head to say it was fine. "I'll be right over there."

She nodded once more and turned her attention back to Kirk who was making his way around to her side of the bar. 

He limped slightly but he found his way to her with ease and she turned to him, still sat on the bar stool. She'd been so used to seeing him in hospital attire, so used to seeing him laid in bed with his leg propped up, that she'd never imagined what he'd look like out of the bed and out of those clothes. 

She wasn't ashamed to say he looked good either. Perhaps a little too pretty boy for liking but still, he looked good. His hair had grown since his stay at the hospital, mussed and dirty blonde, longer on the top and shorter in the back. He had a taper in one ear that was striped black and white and plain black plug in the other about 8mm in width. 

A white t-shirt with a slight v-neck clung to his figure with a whisky stain here and a beer stain there and slung over his right shoulder was a black and red cloth that he used to wipe out the glasses behind the bar. His jeans were a dark denim blue, his boots scuffed and worn severely at the toes and a long chain with some kind of pendant hung and rested on his stomach.

As she looked back to his face and his neck she saw the fading bruises from his motorcycle accident. A faint lick of purple stained the left side of his neck from the base of his ear to the bottom of his neck. There was still a healing cut above his right eye and his knuckles were still healing their scrapes, covered over by grubby sticking plasters of his own doing. 

"What are you doing here?" Kirk asked her, his bright blue stare gazing right into her. "I thought you'd be at work."

Since Kirk had been at Brooklyn Hospital for so long, he almost had Eva's schedule down to a T. He knew when she'd be in to see him and when her breaks and days off were; he'd figured out she shouldn't be here at all. 

"I don't work anymore," she shrugged one shoulder. "Got fired the last time you saw me."

"What?" Kirk's blonde brow furrowed in confusion, his expression unsure. "Why?"

"Long story," she waved his question away with her hand. "You did get your meds though, right?"

Kirk still looked unsure but his expression softened somewhat and he gave a nod, pulling the cloth from his shoulder before toying with it in his hands. 

"McCoy came to see me about an hour after you'd gone," he smiled at her. "He gave me my meds." 

"McCoy did," Eva frowned. "As is Dr. McCoy, your surgeon." 

"Yeah," he nodded. "Mr. Happy."

Eva feigned a laugh as Kirk slung the rag back over his shoulder and leant his arms back on the bar. 

"He's not so bad," she assured him. 

"He said you didn't know one another," Kirk gave her a skeptical look. "Sad just because your names were on one anothers paperwork, didn't meant you knew one another."

"We didn't," Eva trod carefully before she changed the subject. "So is this your place? I think I vaguely remember you talking about it."

"Yeah, I own it," he smiled proudly up at the chalkboard walls behind the bar. "I live upstairs just incase you want to come see how I'm doing."

"Still trying to flirt huh?" Eva quirked a brow over her bright green eyes and smiled into her glass as she took a drink. 

"Give him some credit," the other bar man came over. "He's really, really trying." 

Kirk snatched the towel from his shoulder and snapped it at the other man who backed out of the way laughing. He had eyes as green as Eva's and cropped, light brown hair. Light freckles dotted his nose and cheeks and he had a perfect smile. 

"This is Dean," Kirk said halfheartedly as he introduced him. 

"Pleased to meet you," Dean held out a large hand with rounded fingernails. "I'd say I've heard so much about you but I ain't sure which of Kirk's girls you are."

"None of them," she said, shooting Kirk a look before she shook Dean's large hand. "I'm Evangeline. I was Kirk's nurse while he was in the hospital." 

"No wonder he didn't want to leave," he grinned as he tidied some glasses away. 

"So you're not working now huh?" Kirk said as Dean headed back to the other end of the bar. 

"Yes and no," she shrugged; she didn't feel odd discussing these things with him, she'd gotten to know him fairly well over his time spent as her patient; he'd been her favourite after all. "I work at my friends store, but I don't get paid, it just keeps me occupied."

She nodded over to where Sebastian was laughing with Abigail and Molly and she smiled fondly. 

"Come work for me," Kirk said, snapping her attention back to him. "Seriously, I can pay you. Dean and I were talking about hiring someone else in anyway to help out."

"You're offering me a job," she said, looking unconvinced. 

"Dean!" Kirk yelled down the bar and he came back over. "Could you work with this girl?"

"Kirk, he doesn't even know me," she said looking between the pair. "No offence."

Dean held up his hands and shook his head with a smile to show he wasn't offended before he looked her over and looked to Kirk.

"I think she'd be cool," he said. "She seems cool."

"So, come work for me," Kirk said looking at her. "Come on, you looked after me in the hospital better than my actual doctor did, let me pay you back."

Eva sat for a quiet moment thinking it through; she couldn't go on much longer without working, she and Abigail were running short on cash as it was. She glanced their way once more, seeing how happy they were before she turned back to Kirk.

"Okay," she nodded. "Okay I'll come work for you."

"Awesome," Kirk grinned wide and Dean high fived her. "I can go over the schedule and everything right now, you can start next week. Dean and I will teach you while you work." 

"Great," she smiled and found she couldn't stop.


	10. Chapter 10

As the night wore on, Kirk finished going over her working times and allowed her to get back to her friends where she gave them the good news. She introduced them all to Kirk and Dean and Kirk told her he'd see her at 6 on Monday night.

"Hey, Evangeline?" Kirk called as her group made to leave.

She turned and walked back to the bar, looking at Kirk expectantly.

"Are you gonna see McCoy at some point?" he asked.

"Possibly," she said carefully. "Why?"

"Tell him I owe him a drink," he said. "To say thanks. I don't think I'd have come out like this if it weren't for you and him."

"If I see him, I'll tell him," she nodded. "You keep that ankle rested, you hear me Kirk?"

"Promise," he laughed. "I'll see you Monday."

"See you Monday," she said.

She left him with a sweet smile and Dean with a wave goodbye before she caught the others up and headed home for the night. 

\--

By now, it was the second week of October and the leaves were starting to change colour on the trees. The temperature had begun to drop little by little each week and the native New Yorkers were starting to don their coats and gloves and head out into the changing weather. 

Abigail had worked the morning shift at Olive Garden and when she turned up at The Raconteur to hang out with the others that same afternoon, Sebastian was oddly quiet; he didn’t even poke jokes at Eva about her dating situation which struck her as strange. 

She found Eva and Molly in The Den along with Sebastian and Molly was asking Eva about her new job at Barcade. 

She'd been explaining who Kirk actually was to Molly and when she'd mentioned he was the owner, Sebastian snapped right back to his former self. 

“So the owner just gave you the job, did he?” he gave a wiggle of his blonde brow and Eva glanced to him, partly surprised that he had a voice.

“For a moment there I thought the proverbial cat had gotten your tongue,” she mocked a tone of disappointment as Sebastian flashed a grin. “The owners my old patient, you know, the one I said flirted with everyone? Guess that’s lucky.”

“Did he flirt with you?” Sebastian crooned as he slouched over the table they occupied. “I bet Mr. Tall, Tan and Southern won’t like that.”

“He’s called Leonard,” Eva pulled her eyes from Sebastian’s face as she felt her cheeks warming. “Besides, James is like that with everybody.”

Sebastian’s shoulders tensed and his eyes widened slightly as he made a show of shoving his glasses up his nose to deter from his expression.

“James?” he queried. "I thought he was called Kirk."

“Yeah, first name James, last name Kirk,” Eva explained with a curious lift of her brow. “What about him?”

“Just curious,” Sebastian decided to tread carefully; he’d dealt out enough jokes and comical insults to warrant it back tenfold should the tables ever turn. “There was a James in here earlier, a professor looking for a couple of books, obviously not the same James, but they have the same name.”

“Yeah, Jim’s not a professor,” Eva almost snorted with laughter. “I think he’s about as bright as a ten watt bulb, maybe less so since his accident. Are you okay, Seb? You're being really weird.”

Sebastian made a thoughtful noise and chewed on his thumb as he tapped the heel of a brogue against the wooden floor beneath his feet and stared at one of the posters lining the wall of The Den.

“You’re really fidgety,” Molly observed with a frown as she looked at him. “You weren’t like this earlier.”

Abigail gently elbowed Eva as they both looked at Sebastian who brushed Molly off with the sad excuse of being tired.

“I bet it has something to do with James,” Abigail spoke up from the other side of Sebastian before she looked to Eva. "And not your James either." 

“No,” he said defensively. “It doesn’t.”

“Sebastian, in all the years we’ve known you,” Abigail finished what was left in her mug that Molly had happily placed before he when she'd gotten in. “One thing has always remained constant; you are a terrible liar.” 

Eva and Molly gave an agreeable nod as Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Abigail and refrained from chewing his thumb right off. 

“Alright, it does have to do with James,” Sebastian said evenly. “He’s after some specific books on the Jurassic era; guess what you’re helping me do this afternoon.”

He allowed the corners of his mouth to pull into a slight smile as Abigail’s shoulders slumped slightly. Books, books and more books would no doubt be on the agenda. 

“I take it there’s none on the shelves?” Eva asked.

“Nope,” he answered almost smugly. “Which just leaves the many unopened and dusty boxes lying around the place. You could call Leonard; see if he wants to help.”

He mocked her tone of voice with a smirk when he said his name and if looks could kill, Sebastian would be twitching on the floor as he took his last breaths. 

“I’m overly sure he’d rather be working,” she returned with a sardonic smile. “He probably is.”

She was the first to get up from the table and head into the bookstore through the arch between the two stores. Sebastian had shut up shop now and most of the chairs were up on the tables in The Den. 

With a record on and a pile sitting by the turntable acting as a playlist, Sebastian assigned them each a box to rummage through and they set to work delving into the musty scent of aged dust and paper.

\--

It was a drizzly Tuesday night when Leonard text Evangeline to apologize about not contacting her sooner. Work had been busy and Evangeline could believe that having worked in that God forsaken place herself. 

Once she'd told him that it was okay and that she understood, Leonard asked if she was busy the following night. 

When she said she wasn't, Leonard began to elaborate a very extensive and very well thought out date idea that involved getting take out and watching a movie or two at his place. 

To Evangeline that seemed like the most wonderful idea she'd ever heard. Abigail would be with Molly tomorrow and who knew what the hell was up with Sebastian lately; his vocabulary had suddenly become only very limited to thoughtful noises and the words 'okay' and 'yeah'.

It was like being in a perpetual state of telephone conversation with someone in a call centre who really didn't give a flying one whether you went to jail or not for not paying this months cell bill. 

But with Abigail out and Sebastian being no great amount of fun, she'd only be left alone tomorrow night. Besides, with Leonard driving a Porsche, she was just a tiny bit curious to see how his house looked, even more excited to see where his house actually was.

Not that money was important because it wasn't and Leonard certainly didn't think so either, (he never acted rich or shoved his fancy car in other peoples faces in an effort to show it off, he never really spoke freely of his job unless someone asked him about it first and Eva had never asked him where he resided but he had told her it was in Brooklyn, so he didn't live in NYC) but she had given it some thought. 

She knew he was probably well off given his car and she knew well off people lived in the Dumbo neighborhood on the banks of the East River. She knew that one of the top doctors at Brooklyn Hospital had a penthouse over there but Leonard didn't much look like the penthouse type. 

Maybe he lived close to her and she didn't even know. He could live on the next block over and she wouldn't have a clue; afterall he did know the street names. Jackson, where she lived and Bergen where The Raconteur was. 

She often thought about Brooklyn Heights with the quaint brownstone houses lined up in pretty little rows with their expensive cars parked out front, but the more she thought on it, the less it seemed likely that grumpy, rough around the edges McCoy lived in a quaint, sweet brownstone home in Brooklyn Heights with potted plants either side of the door. 

Come to think of it, Leonard probably wouldn't have the potted plants. She couldn't really see pink petunias or lilac peonies hanging either side of his front door in wicker baskets.

And yet, stranger things had happened. 

Like that one time Sebastian went to a Katy Perry concert in Madison Square Gardens with her, Abigail and Molly and actually enjoyed it, like fully enjoyed it and sang along to every song.

Not bad for someone who was perpetually fluctuating the years between the 60's and the 90's and wearing the needle so thin on the record player in store that it skipped whole tracks, never mind words. 

Evangeline still cracked up laughing when she thought back to that night; Seb had really gone for it when she'd performed California Girls, he even had Snoops rap down to a T. 

Eva got back to Leonard when she'd finished reminiscing and said that his idea for the date sounded wonderful. He said he'd pick her up at 6 and they'd get take out on the way back to his.

With a smile, she said she'd see him tomorrow and settled back down to watch a few more re-runs of Grays Anatomy before Abigail got home from her shift.


	11. Chapter 11

Abigail was still home when Eva awoke the following morning. The street and sidewalk outside were damp but it looked like the rain had finally let up.

For now, at least. 

An overnight bag sat fat and plump by the front door and Abigail was finishing the remnants of a cup of coffee that had long since gone tepid. 

"You got any plans for tonight?" Abigail asked as Evangeline planted herself on the couch. "Or the whole day, even?"

"Why?" Eva eyed her suspiciously. "What do you want me to do for you?"

Eva knew Abigail better than anyone; although she'd wager that she probably didn't know her that much better than Molly did. 

"Post me these?" she handed Eva two envelopes. "And could you get my coat from the dry cleaners? I know you have yours to get too."

Abigail gave the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster to Eva and she sighed with a smile and agreed. 

"I'm heading over to see Sebastian anyway," Eva said, placing the two small envelopes on the table; one addressed to Abigail's parents, the other to some government office dealing with taxes. 

"Wouldn't bother," Abigail said hoisting the bag on her shoulder. "Molly said he's way out of it. I tried talking to him yesterday on my break, I headed over for a coffee with Molly, I swear to God Eva, he's the face of dial tone." 

Eva cracked up laughing for a moment or two as Abigail opened the front door.

"I'll see you when I see you Eve's," she smiled. "Have a great day."

"Have a great night," she answered. "Bye!"

The door closed and Eva was left in the apartment once again. She showered, dressed, grabbed the enveloped and the tickets for the dry cleaning and took off to run the errands before dropping into the store to pick up a coffee to go. 

When she entered the store, she found Sebastian in his usual place, perched on the stool behind his desk but there was no book in his hand and not a scrap of colour on him save the white shirt he wore. Everything else was black; black vans, black jeans and a fairly new looking cardigan. 

His arms were crossed over his chest, his feet still and steady on the bar on the stool and not flung over the desk like usual and he stared at nothing in particular but Eva stared at him.

She crossed the store and stood in front of his desk but his attention still didn't waver from what he was or wasn't looking at.

"Oh boy," Eva sighed. "What the hell is bitin' you?"

Sebastian's blue stared moved to her but his expression remained blank and he said nothing.

"Well, alright then," Eva raised her brows. "I'll see you tomorrow or something."

Abigail was right, he did look like the face of dial tone. She gave him one last look before she dipped into The Den and ordered a coffee to go from Molly. 

"He been that way all morning?" Eva asked as she waited for her order.

"Pretty much," Molly frowned through the arch as she put her order together. "He has these little moments where he comes back and cracks the worst jokes but I can't get a thing out of him."

"Me either," Eva answered her. "I don't much like it."

"He'll be fine, I'm sure," Molly slid her cup to her and Eva handed over the cash to which she told Molly she could keep the change. "You not staying?"

"Unfortunately not," she answered. "Got plans with Leonard tonight."

"Yeah?" Molly quirked a brow but Eva didn't give up the goods.

Instead she grinned, said goodbye to Molly and headed back into The Raconteur where Sebastian was stil seemingly gazing at nothing. 

"I don't know what got into you blondie," she sighed, before she pecked him goodbye on the cheek. "But I sure as hell wish it'd get out. I'll see you later."

The blonde glanced at her and gave a feeble nod before turning back to staring into space.

-

At around 5ish, Eva began to get ready. She decided not to wear anything too fancy since they weren't doing much in particular. She wore dark blue skinny jeans that were ripped at the knee, black pumps and an oversized, soft to the touch wine red sweater with a long chain complete with cross pendant over the top. 

She threw what she thought she might need into a bag and grabbed the apartment keys at 5:55pm when a knock came at the door. Opening it, she found Leonard standing on the other side, half smiling as he leant against the door frame. 

He looked a little tired and little disheveled, like he'd gotten ready in a hurry and Eva realized he'd probably come straight from the hospital. 

"You could've headed home first," she said as she joined him in the hall and locked the door behind her. 

"I could," he agreed. "But we're going there anyway." 

She gave a grin and turned to greet him properly, pecking a slightly stubbled cheek as Leonard turned a little pink in the face before leading her down the stairs and out to the car. 

With the curtains closed in the apartment, Eva hadn't noticed the weather. The sky had grayed somewhat over the last hour or so and the promise of rain hung thick and heavy in the air. She glanced upwards at the swirling clouds, deep, dark grays mingling with off whites as a chilly breeze blew towards them.

Without a further thought, she climbed into the Porsche beside Leonard and smiled at him as she dumped her bag at her feet.

"I have a lot to tell you," she said as she pulled on her seatbelt. 

Leonard watched this one simple act with such intensity that he could've written a novel about how deft and delicate her hands were. Or how her hair tumbled gently over one shoulder or just how green her eyes looked because of that damn red sweater he wanted to touch so badly. 

"Then tell all," Leonard said, snapping out of his thoughts as she glanced at him once more. "I'm all ears, kid. I also hope you're hungry."

"Starving actually," she said, ruffling her hair. 

"Good," he cracked a grin. "So tell me."

"I got a new job," she said. "At a bar over on Union Avenue? It's a really great little place, they have arcade games in there and I guess bands sometimes play there too because there's a stage and everything."

So maybe she was dancing around the obvious, but she wasn't so sure how to break it to Leonard that fate or coincidence or something had a hand in what had actually happened.

"Well, hey," Leonard was grinning and as he rolled up to a stop light, he directed that grin at Eva. "I'm happy for you, what's the place called?"

"Barcade," she said hesitantly, as if she was assuming that Leonard already knew of the place. "It's like a basement bar, it's kind of easy to miss."

"I think I heard of it somewhere before," he frowned. "Someone might have mentioned it."

"I thought the same when I saw the sign," she said fiddling with her fingers, deciding to get it over and done with. "It's Kirk's bar. You know, James Kirk? The kid in the motorcycle accident?"

If Leonard hadn't pulled up to another stop light, Eva was sure his foot would have slammed on the break in surprise.

"You're kiddin' me," he passed her a jaundiced look before he pulled away from the stop light and headed into a neighborhood she wasn't familiar with. 

"No, he works there," she gave a nervous laugh. "He owns the place actually. Runs it with another guy called Dean. He said he wants to pay me back for taking care of him better than his actual doctor did, besides, he said they were looking to hire someone else anyway."

"So you're gonna be workin' with pain in the ass Kirk?" Leonard pulled up outside of a take out house specializing in Chinese food; he'd remembered what she'd liked when she'd said on their last date. 

"He's not so bad," she smiled to herself. "Anyway, a change of scenery seems like a good idea, working in a bar could be fun."

Leonard didn't disagree, maybe it would be fun for her. 

He climbed out of the car with Eva in tow and held the door open to the take out place for her. The smells of several different Chinese meals filled her nose and her mouth began to water.

"Order whatever you want," Leonard leant on the counter with crossed arms as her eyes darted over the menu. "And before you ask, yeah, I'm sure."

She nudged him with her shoulder and they both laughed. Leonard ordered some sort of noodle dish with sweet and sour chicken and Eva put in an order for a pancake roll with lemon chicken. 

Whilst they waited for their order, the rain came down with a vengeance. The sky blackened and the rain bounced up from the floor, coating the sidewalks and streets within seconds. 

"Good thing I don't live so far from here," Leonard glared at the window as the rain speckled it. "Come to think of it, you ain't ever asked where I live."

"None of my business," she shrugged as the woman behind the counted handed Eva the bag with their food in and Leonard paid. "Until you make it my business, that is."

"Huh," Leonard gave a coy smirk. "I'll just let it be a surprise for you. Ready to brave the weather?"

"After you." 

Eva nodded to the door he was holding open before he hurried through it with her behind him. The rain soaked through their clothes in big, round splotches but luckily, they weren't parked too far away. Leonard wiped his hand over his face before he started the car, flung on the heaters and started the wipers before he pulled away.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yeah," she smiled.

They continued on in a comfortable silence and Leonard was right in saying he didn't live too far from the take out place. Eva's little fantasy of brownstone homes was a fantasy no more. Leonard lived on a quaint little road called Remsen Street in a three storey brownstone on the very end of the street but what surprised her most was that the end of the street was the bank of the East River with a jaw dropping view of Manhattan across the water. 

He even had the potted plants. 

"We're in Brooklyn Heights," she said over the din of the rain hitting the now stationary car parked three homes down from his since the street was jam packed. "Wow."

Leonard laughed to himself for a moment, both hands still fixed to the wheel as he watched the rain cascade down the windshield. 

"Come on," he jangled his keys. "Let's get in where it's warm and dry." 

Eva clambered out with ease, Leonard too, before she hurried to his side and hastily followed him down the sodden sidewalk up to the brownstone numbered 516 where two large potted ferns stood either side of the door. 

They entered on the second floor and Eva (as much as she tried not to) gawked. The hall was painted a deep grey with white finishing's and a white banister that presumably led to the upstairs and to her left were double doors that opened up into a spacious living area that was painted a warm brown filled with wooden furniture and a more than cozy looking leather sofa. 

As Eva kicked off her sodden shoes, they both caught sight of one another. Leonard's dark hair was plastered to his forehead, his thin, cotton shirt sticking to him making his figure look more profound. Droplets of rain sat on his tanned skin and dripped down his neck.

Eva's hair hung in straggles, her fringe half stuck to her forehead. Her skin was cold where it had gotten wet and Leonard could hear the faint chatter of her teeth. 

"Give me one second," he smiled, taking the bag of food from her and disappearing down the hall. 

She heard footsteps grow fainter indicating he'd gone down another level and she presumed that the kitchen was downstairs. In a matter of moments, Leonard reappeared and beckoned for her to follow him up the stairs.

"Little forwards, ain't ya?" she joked as she sauntered after him. 

The carpet was cream and soft to her bare feet and the house smelt like vanilla and new cotton. There were framed prints on the wall leading up the stairs of classical book covers and when they reached the top, Leonard pointed out the bathroom to her.

"If you wanna dry off," he nodded to the open door.

"Thanks," she gave a smile before Leonard ducked into what she assumed was his bedroom. 

She reemerged a couple of minutes later, her hair dried and ruffled, falling in loose ringlets that Leonard couldn't stop grinning at. He held something soft in his hands and held it out to her and when she unraveled it, she found a clean, dry shirt that belonged to him. 

"I figure that jumper ain't as comfortable as it looks when it's wet," he said when she looked at him quizzically. "Come to the kitchen when you're ready, I'll dry it off for you." 

Leonard left her at the top of the stairs and Eva grasped the shirt in her hands. It was proper flannel and softened through excessive wear. It looked like mohair with the fabric looking pulled and frayed, but it was just well worn. 

She took it into the bathroom to change and couldn't help but put her face against the fabric. Several smells came through; laundry detergent that smelt like lavender, the sweet scent of the aftershave or cologne he always wore and the vanilla and clean smell the rest of the house seemed to have.

It was an eclectic mix of scents but to her it was oddly comforting. She peeled off her red sweater and dried her clammy skin with the towel before sliding her arms into the shirt and buttoning it up. Of course, it was a size or three too big. It sagged under the arms, the sleeves came too far past her knuckles and the collar was huge, but it was a comfy shirt. 

she rolled the sleeves up a little and left the top three buttons undone before she grabbed the towel and her sweater and headed down the two flights of stairs into the kitchen.

Or kitchen and dining room as she discovered when she wandered in.

Leonard had plated up the food and set it on the table and he seemed to stop for a moment when he saw Eva standing there bare footed in his favorite shirt with her hair untidy and her cheeks rosy from the warmth of the house. 

She looked to him, beautiful; she looked happy and content. 

The he noticed the sweater and towel under her arm before he came to his senses and directed her to the table whilst he took care of drying out her sweater in the tumble dryer in his utility room. (Obviously.)

"Your place is amazing," Eva gushed as she tucked into her food. 

"Thanks," Leonard gave a nod. "So this job, when you start?"

"Monday," she smiled. "Monday evening. Kirk's kind of excited."

"I bet he is," he grumbled.

"Don't be jealous," she nudged his hand that held his fork with her own that held hers. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Kirk."

She took another mouthful of food as he looked at her warily. What could she possibly want to talk to him about Kirk for? He was no longer a patient of his, or theirs for that matter, Eva didn't even work there anymore.

"Okay," Leonard said, taking a mouthful of his own food. "What about him?"

"He told me something about you," she pointed at him with her fork. "Something nice."

Leonard's eyes narrowed and he carried on eating. 

"He told me you went to see him after I'd gone," she said, staring at her plate. "Said you gave him his medication."

Leonard felt his cheeks warm as he pushed what food remained on his plate around a little and Eva watched him closely. 

"Yeah," he nodded. "I did. I saw you go in Puri's office, I was checkin' on Kirk anyway then he said something about not gettin' his meds. I had authority so I cleared them for him. Figured that's why you looked damn near miserable following Puri to his office."

"Why didn't you say?" Eva said clearing her plate. 

Leonard gave a shrug and cleared his own plate before looking to her, studying her with hazel eyes before he cleared their plates away.

"It was a nice thing to do," she turned in her chair to face him at the sink. "You didn't even really know me back then." 

Leonard was glad his back was to her because he was sure his face had turned a vibrant shade of vermillion. The truth was, the very first time he'd seen her he'd been caught off guard. It was a feeling that he'd never really had before, every woman he'd ever known had always had to try to gain his attention, Evangeline had done it without even knowing or trying. 

It was the green of her eyes that drew him in, the way that she faintly smiled and in the way that she held herself when speaking to him. Most other nurses at that place were impolite and pushy in order to get what they wanted, the doctors could be just as bad, but Evangeline had been proper and kind, she'd even said thank you. 

Before Leonard knew it, she was behind him, a hand gently on his arm as he scrubbed the plates in the sink. 

"Hey," she said softly, peering up to his 6ft frame and squeezing his elbow gently. "Thank you."

Leonard squeezed the cloth beneath the bubbles and the water in an attempt to control his emotions; people were never kind to him so why should he be kind to them? That was a mantra he'd lived with for a number of years but Eva was flipping it all upside down. 

She got this was a difficult thing for him to process and that he didn't necessarily know where to put himself or really what to say. She hadn't meant to make him feel awkward or embarrassed, she just wanted to show gratitude for what he'd done.

What he'd done for her and no one else.

Where her hand rested on his elbow felt hot and she smelt like rain and a faint undertone of whatever musky perfume she was wearing but she mostly smelt like home and that was making him half wild.

Her hand reached over his arm that she'd been holding and scooped up a handful of soap bubbles before she blew them at him and giggled, leaving him specked in globs of rapidly popping bubbles as he cracked a grin.

"I thought we were watching movies," she said, reaching up to wipe some bubbles from his cheek and chin. 

"Head on up," Leonard gave her a gentle smile. "I'll be there in a minute."

He nodded to the sink where he was still scrubbing the plates and Eva gave a nod, her hand resting on his arm again before it trailed off and he heard her footsteps wander gently up to the living room. 

He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to touch her. He'd be a compulsive liar if he said that he also didn't want to kiss her again.

He finished up the plates, grabbed a bottle of red wine and two glasses and headed up the stairs to find Eva knelt up on the leather couch, her eyes and fingers trailing over the bookshelf beside it. He smiled fondly and set the glasses down on the table before handing Eva the remote and settling into the couch himself.

She flicked through the titles for a minute and settled on Stardust as Leonard poured two glasses of wine. She took a sip from her glass and made herself comfortable next to Leonard, her head resting against his shoulder as her scent filled his nose again. 

He managed to keep his cool until about half way through the movie and when Eva reached for her glass, Leonard stopped her, consciously aware that she'd only been half watching the film anyway. 

The only light in the room came from the television set and the rain still poured outside. The living room was warm, even warmer curled up to his side and she studied him for a moment, trying to attempt to figure out what he wanted. 

A faint lick of his lips gave her all the information she needed and she knelt up, shoving her bangs from her face before she leant into him. 

She placed a hand to his face, the light stubble tickling and prickling her palm, her thumb gently caressing the softer skin below his eye at his cheekbone. Leonard could already tell this kiss would be a lot more meaningful than their last.

He leant forwards, a hand on her bent knees running up to her hip slowly and gently. With her hand still on his cheek, Leonard took it in his own with his other hand and closed the space between them.

His lips, like before, were soft and warm, the first touch gentle and sweet before he pulled back with his eyes half lidded and blazing hazel. A lazy grin claimed his mouth causing Eva to smile a little too and as she moved her hand from his face, he leant in again and she crossed her arms around his neck, allowing her hands to idly fall down his back as he placed his hands on her hips.

She tasted like wine and lemon from the food with a faint undertone of bubblegum possibly from her chapstick he'd seen her put on in the car. 

Once more, Eva could feel the hammering of his heart but this time not with her hands. She'd inched closer to him, practically sitting in his lap, their chests pressed together and Leonard pulling her towards him with the small of her back. 

She obeyed and crawled onto him, her knees either side of his hips as she let her hands move across his shoulders and over his chest. She wanted to unbutton that shirt and see what was underneath like a kid peeking at a Christmas present on Christmas Eve but she didn't want to go too far too fast when she knew he didn't want to. 

Leonard moved Eva's hair from her face and neck before he made light work of leaving a trail of delicate kisses along her jaw before rejoining her lips. 

Her fingers tensed on his shoulders as she returned the favour and finishing up by gently nipping at his lip which drove him crazy. 

"You're somethin' else you know," Leonard sighed as she climbed off of him, deciding enough was enough unless Leonard said otherwise. 

"Not really," she frowned, settling up close to him again. 

"You are to me."

Leonard laid an arm around her, his chin resting against her head as his fingers idly wound strands of her hair around themselves whilst they watched the rest of the movie.

"Don't get all soft on me," Eva prodded him in the thigh. "You're meant to be Mr. Surly and Grumpy."

Leonard laughed before a crack of lightning startled them both.

"Maybe you ought to stay here tonight," Leonard offered. "There's a guest bedroom upstairs."

"You sure?" Eva glanced out of the window beside the bookcase and saw how hard and heavy the rain was coming down. 

Leonard nodded and Eva settled back down, making a mental note to text Abigail later to say she'd be staying out.

She hoped Abigail was cozied up safe with Molly and not caught out in the storm.


	12. Chapter 12

Eva had slept with her phone by the bed and she was rudely awakened when Sebastian rang her just after 9am.

"Seb?" she groaned. "You know it's 9am, right?"

"Sure do," he chirped, sounding happier than he had been lately. "I was wondering if you wanted to come into the city with me today, I have some errands to run."

"I guess," she shrugged, well aware he couldn't see her.

"Awesome, so I'll see you in a half hour?" he asked.

"Maybe more like two hours," she sat up in the spacious bed as if she'd just remembered where she was. "I stopped at Leonard's last night because of the storm."

"Oh sure," she could hear the sarcasm in his voice. "Blame the storm."

"Shut up," she rubbed at her eyes with her spare hand. "I slept in the guest room anyway."

"Sure you did," he goaded.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Give me an hour to get out of here and I'll text you when I'm on my way."

"Don't rush," he said. "In fact, see if Leonard wants to join us. The weathers perked up. I'll see you around 11ish if that's okay?"

"Yeah," Eva swung her legs out of bed. "Sure."

She put the phone down and pulled on her clothes from the previous night, her jumper now dry and softened off in the tumble dryer. A smell of breakfast came from two floors down and Eva followed her nose to find Leonard cooking in the kitchen.

"Good mornin'," he grinned at her, all bed head and sleepy eyed. "Sleep well?"

"Perfectly thanks," she drawled like she usually did in a morning until her brain caught up with her. "I hope you ain't cookin' for me."

"You're a guest in my home," Leonard set a plate before her as she settled at the dining table consisting of scrambled eggs, toast and sausages. "I want to make you feel at home."

"Well ain't you just the cutest," she smiled as he sat beside her. "I got a proposition for you anyhow."

"Already?" Leonard peered at the clock. "It's not even 10am yet."

"Sebastian's out of his funk," she said, forking in a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "He asked me if I wanted to join him in The City while he runs a few errands. You're invited too, you up for it?"

In all the time Leonard had lived in Brooklyn, he'd hardly even been to New York City if at all since he couldn't remember. He ate a few mouthfuls of food before he looked to Eva and nodded.

"Sure," he smiled. "Maybe you could show me round."

"Gladly," she grinned.

\--

Sebastian shut up the shop at half 11 when no other customers came in and after Eva had made a quick stop at home to change for the city, she and Leonard headed over to The Raconteur to meet the blonde who seemed back to his jokey old ways.

They opted not to take the cars into the city, that was a death wish or an aneurism brought on by stress waiting to happen so Sebastian lead them to the subway. 

It was a cold day over ground with a thin mist hanging in the air to accompany the low sun that threatened to blind pedestrians every time they crossed a street. The subway ride was always long with several more change over’s than necessary but Eva hadn’t been to the city for a while and she happily dealt with it as Leonard stood by her side holding onto a bar over his head that he could actually reach. 

She’d not been paying attention to the map so when Sebastian led them out of a station on the upper west side by Central Park; she gave him a quizzical look. Her hands were in her jacket pockets, her chin tucked into a scarf as Leonard stood a little behind her, paying a great deal of attention to the confused look across her face.

“I thought when you said city you meant like Soho or Chinatown,” she said. “You know errands to get new books or whatever for the store?”

“I have to go see a client,” he shrugged. “He works at the museum.”

Eva went to open her mouth to say something but Sebastian cut in before the thought left her brain and her mouth.

“I’ll meet you by the Imagine Mosaic at half 2, alright?” Sebastian lolled his head to one side, his fringe falling over his glasses as he did so. 

“You’re up to something,” Eva narrowed his eyes at him, well aware now that he definitely was back to his old ways.

“Aren’t I always?” he gave her a bright grin before he vanished into the crowds of the city, leaving Eva and Leonard stood at the top of the subway steps.

She gave a shrug and led Leonard forwards, navigating her way towards central park as he kept up at her side.

“So what’s the Imagine Mosaic?” he asked as they finally stepped foot into the green wonderland of Central Park.

“You live by New York and you don’t know?” she gave him a bemused look.

“I’m not from round these parts,” Leonard sunk his hands into his jeans pockets, glancing around at the changing colours of the foliage in the park. “I think I been across the river a grand total of three times since I got here a couple of years back.”

"Well neither am I," Eva laughed but she nodded to show she was listening and they slowed to a stroll down a long path covered over by trees shedding their autumn leaves. 

“But you know The Beatles, right?” she glanced to him. 

“Everybody knows The Beatles Eva,” he raised a single brow at her with a smile.

“Not everybody likes them though,” she gave him a nudge and he gently shoved her back. “The mosaic is a tribute to John Lennon. He used to live on 72nd Street. Loads of fans of him and The Beatles are usually there, some play music. It’s one of Seb’s favourite places.”

“He likes The Beatles?” he asked.

“I guess,” she answered. “Sebastian’s British, It's something that maybe reminds him of home since The Beatles were British too.”

Leonard was quiet for a long moment as they sat down on a bench. Sebastian looked like a typical hipster New Yorker and spoke with the same twang albeit it wasn't a heavy accent; he’d have never have guessed that in a month of Sundays. 

“He used to be an accountant,” Eva continued, furthering Leonard’s silence. “Got outsourced to New York along with Molly. In that time they met Abigail, then me. You know about Abigail and Molly. Their company went bust, but Seb liked New York so much that he stayed and Molly didn’t want to leave Abigail behind, so they stayed with us for a while and Seb didn’t so much turn a whole new leaf as he did a whole new forest.”

“Wow,” was all Leonard could think to say. 

“Yep,” she nodded. “But Seb’s great if not a pain in my ass. He likes all the old britrock and his flat is just a plethora of trinkets that remind him of home, but he always says that store and flat are his home now.”

Eva glanced at her watch seeing that it was only 12:30; they still had two hours to spare. She looked at Leonard who looked relaxed on the bench before she glanced up the pathway. She loved the zoo in Central Park and figured that’d be a way to kill time.

“Come on,” she stood and held out a hand to Leonard. “I wanna show you the zoo.”

Leonard looked at her hand curiously before hesitantly sliding his hand into hers. His palm was warm, his grip gentle and as they walked, Eva gave it a gentle squeeze that he returned. As she found her way around the park, she wondered just what Sebastian was up to.

-

Across the other side of the park, Sebastian was glancing up at the structure of the Natural History Museum. His hands awkwardly pulled at his cardigan, hoping to pull it into some kind of straight and acceptable style. 

Clutching at his bag strap over his chest, he convinced himself to climb the steps and wander inside. This time he looked up expectantly at the T-Rex, marvelling at the line of teeth that occupied it’s skull before he shoved his glasses up his nose and took himself deeper into the museum.

He strolled through The Wonders of the Deep, gawking once more at the accurately scaled blue whale suspended from the ceiling before he slunk into the wing that held the dinosaurs. He skipped the Triassic period and had no intention of visiting the Cretaceous period and so, stood quite happily in the Jurassic section observing tiny fossils secured behind glass.

They didn’t hold his attention for too long, his blue eyes scanned the slightly busy room for a familiar professor but all he found were screaming children and foreign tourists. He found himself wandering the Triassic section and then the Cretaceous section in desperate hope, but it was no use. 

He tried not to be downcast but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but he hadn’t expected him to not be there at all. Although he was perhaps in his office and Sebastian couldn’t get that far without an appointment and even then what would he say? What excuse could he have for possibly seeing him again? 

He trudged back through Wonders of the Deep and back into the lobby where the T-Rex towered above the tourists. He passed by the information desk, eyes fixed on his shoes as he made for the exit, but someone grabbed his elbow.

He turned, ready to give someone a round of verbal abuse, but when he saw Professor Moriarty’s small figure looking up at him, his words dissipated. His glasses were crooked again and he had a navy jumper pulled over some garish black and white polka dotted shirt.

“Sebastian,” he greeted him with an air of a smile. “I didn’t know you were stopping by. I gave you my number, I thought you might call.”

James sounded almost disappointed and Sebastian ignored the image of the professor pouting because he may as well have been with how he was looking at him.

“I was in the neighbourhood,” he said. 

‘Liar,’ his brain scaled him.

“Thought I’d come in and look at the Egyptian exhibit,” he continued nonchalantly. “I didn’t even know if you’d be here.”

‘Liar, liar, liar.’

“It’s been a busy morning,” James’s eyes dropped to the garish cardigan Sebastian was wearing as the blonde stared at the polka dot collar peering out from the navy jumper on the professor. “It’s a weekend of course.”

Sebastian was only half listening to that wonderful Irish voice, the other half of him was running riot around his mind; ‘I gave you my number, I thought you might call.’ Had he been expecting him to? No, that would mean someone actually wanted to spend time with him and no one ever wanted to do that.

Apart from his three favourite girls and Sebastian thought that must really say something about him if his three nearest and dearest were all female. 

James’s eyes scanned the foyer of the museum, unintentionally looking for someone who might be here with Sebastian. A sibling perhaps, parents? No, probably a girlfriend; there was a blonde in the corner in a foul yellow and white Nordic patterned jumper looking their way.

“You here with anyone?” he asked with a carefully raised brow.

“Um, yeah,” Sebastian said. “I mean no, er, well. I’m not /here/ with anyone.”

James’s head inclined slightly and tilted, a slight amused smile forming on his thin pale lips as he looked up at the blonde tripping over his words, fingers fumbling with his long sleeves as he did so. His eyes moved over to the female blonde again, but she’d gone and James assumed she wasn’t here with Sebastian.

“So you’re here with people,” James narrowed his eyes, arms crossing over his chest as he did so. “But not /here/ with people.”

“Yeah?” Sebastian looked confused. “I left a couple of friends at the subway; they didn’t want to come to the museum.”

‘You didn’t ask them,’ his mind scalded him. ‘You’re not so much running errands as you are running after the professor. Shame on you.’

Sebastian felt his cheeks warm and he glared at his boots feeling a little bit guilty even though he knew Eva would be out enjoying her favourite parts of New York with Leonard in tow; in fact he began to assume she owed him one, it was a damn good date.

“Oh well, their loss,” James shrugged his bony shoulders and uncrossed his arms. “I could give you a tour if you wanted, unless you’re not planning on hanging around.”

“I have to meet my friends again at half two but I’m sure I could score an extra half hour,” he answered as he pulled out his phone. “A tour sounds great.” 

James’s thin smile grew a little and he gave a nod, gesturing for Sebastian to follow him who was sending a quick message to Eva. James secured a special visitors pass which Sebastian pinned to his cardigan and since it was lunchtime, the museum had emptied somewhat as people decided to find a place for a bite to eat, so Sebastian found he could walk by the professors side with ease.

“Where do you want to start?” James asked.

“You know more than dinosaurs?” Sebastian frowned.

“They’re my area of expertise,” he gave a shrug, his face crinkling up slightly which Sebastian found adorable. “But you don’t get to work in a place like this without picking up a few other facts along the way.”

“We could start with the dinosaurs...” Sebastian said thoughtfully.

James gave a nod and led him towards the Triassic section of the huge dinosaur exhibit. Since Sebastian had barely even glanced around the exhibit, he paid close attention to James as he led him around skeletons and pointed out fossils.

“Do you know where the word dinosaur comes from?” James asked him as they stared up at a dinosaur skull encased behind glass. 

Sebastian thought long and hard, wondering if he’d ever come across such a piece of information in any book he’d read, but his mind drew a blank and he shook his head.   
“It comes from the Greek language, this is a little something I picked up in the Greek history department,” he was grinning, excited by his own knowledge. “It means terrible lizard. It was coined by a Palaeontologist in 1842 named Richard Owen.” 

For a moment, Sebastian imagined all the heads of the departments at the museum sitting around a huge table, offering tidbits of information to one another that might help their cause.   
“Are you a Palaeo-whatsit?” Sebastian frowned, his hand wavering in the air.

“Ah, no,” James shook his head and hung it before he looked back up at the skull. “I’m a curator. I don’t study the things on show; I just put them on show. I decide which artefacts go on display and so on and so forth. But I am fascinated by them, hence why I curate them.”  
He strolled away from the skull, leaving Sebastian thoughtful before he ambled after him, following him into the Jurassic section.

“Did you see Spike?” James turned and managed to walk backwards for a few paces as he spoke to Sebastian.

“Uh, Spike?” the blonde gave him a puzzled look.

James turned around with a grin and stopped before a completed skeleton of a Stegosaurus. Sebastian had glanced its way a few times but never stood before it for a good look; it’d been too crowded to get near. 

“Spike,” James gestured to the skeleton and turned back to Sebastian with a smile. “The Stegosaurus Rex. Late Jurassic period, but Jurassic period all the same; he’s one of my favourites.”

“I can tell,” Sebastian said as he leant on the rail that encased the exhibit beside James.   
They’re elbows were close to touching and Sebastian shuffled a little away from him as to not elbow him; his long arms took up a lot of space even when folded together. 

James was quiet for a while, simply just staring in awe at the huge skeleton. He must’ve seen it a thousand times over, probably had a hand in putting it together so it could go on display, but he was no less interested in it and Sebastian was captivated by his admiration. 

James’s dark eyes looked at every last rib and plate along its back, every bone from the top of its strangely small head to the tip of its dangerously spiked tail and Sebastian took every moment whilst he did this to look at every little thing about the professor.

A pale complexion, jet black hair and deep, brown eyes; nimble, pale hands with short rounded fingernails and slightly crooked knuckles; bony wrists and elbows that could probably cause an unintentional bruise or two and those stupid tortoiseshell glasses that were once more crooked. 

“Its body weighed just short of two tonnes but it had a brain the size of a walnut,” James said with a smile. “But he was deadly in his own kind of way. You see the things on its tail bone?”   
James nodded to the tail that was suspended by invisible wires so onlookers could get a good look at it and Sebastian gave a nod. There were blunted points protruding from the end of its tail, a different shape to the plates that lined its back. 

“They’re spikes, or they were,” he said. “Not the smartest creature by a long shot, but perhaps one of the more lethal. If provoked, it’d stand and fight, but it was a plant eater.”

“So he was kind of nice but deadly?” Sebastian asked. “I have a friend like that.”

James gave a laugh that made Sebastian weak in the knees; he was thankful to be leaning against something because there would have been a noticeable slump. It was an almost musical laugh, bright and cheerful like neon paint across a black chalkboard and highly contagious since Sebastian was laughing too. 

“You’re saying your friend is like a dinosaur?” James asked as he walked into the Cretaceous exhibit. “That’s not very nice. Funny, but not nice.”

“She doesn’t look like one,” Sebastian gave a shrug. “Just the temperament of a Stegosaurus.”  
Sebastian flipped his wrist around to check the time and found himself disappointed when he saw it was quarter to three. There was a whole other exhibit to go and several other rooms he still wanted to see under James’s tour, but he didn’t have the time.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to go,” he tried not to sound glum but James looked equally disappointed. “It’s almost three.”

“Another time,” James gave a nod and a smile. “I hope you have a pleasant journey back to Brooklyn.”

He began to walk away and Sebastian followed him with his eyes as he wandered back into the Jurassic section without once looking over his shoulder. He’d not managed to say goodbye to him and he mentally kicked himself until he heard something echo from the room behind him.  
“And I wasn’t kidding about my number!” the Irish accent sing-songed and Sebastian whirled around on his foot.

He opened his mouth and started to say something but realised James was probably long gone and back on his way to the office. With another quick check of the time, Sebastian hot footed it out of the museum and very nearly sprinted through Central Park towards the Imagine Mosaic. 

He heard the sound of someone playing ‘She Loves You’ before he even arrived. People sat around on the path and on the benches and the memorial itself was decorated in flowers laid out like a peace sign. People were singing and some were dancing and he spotted Eva and Leonard on one the benches watching on, Eva singing and Leonard laughing. 

She threw Sebastian a wave and got up, pulling Leonard with her to meet up with him.   
“What was so important you needed an extra half hour?” Eva asked.

“Stuff,” he shrugged. “I didn’t think you liked The Beatles.”

“I don’t,” she said. “I’ve heard that song played six times since we sat down; it’s seared into my brain.” 

She gave him a curious look but began to walk away from the memorial, thankful to get away from the music as Leonard walked at one side of her and Sebastian walked at the other. 

“What did you do anyway?” Sebastian sunk his hands into his pockets, aiming his question at Leonard but Eva answered.

“Stuff,” she air quoted with a grin before she noticed something pinned to the blondes cardigan. “What’s that?”

She jabbed a finger against the laminated pass and frowned as Sebastian silently cursed himself.

“That’s a visitors pass for the...” she trailed off, a smirk growing on her face. “Museum of Natural History. They have dinosaurs in there, right?”

“It’s a natural history museum,” Leonard said from her side with a frown. “Course they do.”

“Just wondered,” she looked at Sebastian as she answered Leonard and Sebastian felt the colour drain from him. “Probably a handful of professors too.”


	13. Chapter 13

Eva parted ways with Leonard at the store when they got back, leaving just her and Sebastian as he opened the front door and left the closed sign to the glass.

“Alright,” Sebastian dumped his bag on the desk. “Out with it, I deserve it.”

“Out with what?” Eva said innocently.

“The badge, the museum,” Sebastian crossed his arms. “The professor?”

Eva gave a shrug and perched herself on one of the steps that led up to Sebastian’s flat. He was hoping she’d put two and two together and come up with five as she so often did, but this time she’d worked him out.

“What you do on your own time is your business,” she shrugged. “If you wanna trail old guys around a museum and get all geeky about dinosaurs, go ahead.”

No, she’d definitely come up with five. 

“He’s not ol-” Sebastian stopped himself before he carried on and allowed a relaxed smile to spread on his face. “Well, maybe I will.”

“You knock yourself out, Seb,” she pulled herself up from the step. “Thanks for asking us along, we had a great time without you.”

“Ouch,” Sebastian mocked pain. “I’m wounded. But you had a good time with Leonard, right?”

“Yeah,” she said shrugging her bag onto her shoulder.

“You like him don’t you?” he lolled his head to one side as she reached the door, car keys in hand.

She didn’t look at him but Sebastian could tell she was smiling and as she walked through the door, he heard a very quiet ‘yeah’.

-

Monday came around with the fall of more rain and Eva drove herself to her evening shift. Abigail told her that herself and the others would drop in later to see she was getting on and even Leonard had said that he might stop by.

She dressed all in black for work with her ripped jeans, a tank a cardigan and her plum Chuck Taylor's. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, her make up dark and only brightening her eyes. Kirk spotted her a mile away and wolf whistled straight across the bar.

Instead of rolling her eyes or shaking her head, Eva broke a laugh and slid behind the bar to join him as Dean unloaded some crates in the back.

"Nice get up," Kirk nodded to her attire.

He himself wore faded blue jeans that were fraying on the thighs and knees and an off white t-shirt with the bright red rag flung over his shoulder.

"Shall we get started?" he asked, his blue gaze latched onto her.

"With what?" she quirked a brow.

"Your training," he laughed slightly. "Don't you wanna know how to pull a pint or mix a cocktail?"

"I already know," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't have taken your offer if I didn't know what I was doing." 

Kirk looked at her skeptically but she wasn't lying. She pulled the rag from his shoulder and flung it over her own before proving her worth by making a cocktail. When Kirk realized she'd perfected it, he waited for her explanation. 

"How in the hell do you think I got to New York," she asked rhetorically. "Money don't just grow on trees."

"You've got an accent," Kirk frowned with a slight smile. "Where in the world did that come from?"

Her accent was slipping out more and more lately the more she spoke to Leonard; his own Georgia twang enticed her drawl out and people were beginning to notice. Sebastian even liked to try and mock it with poor results. 

"Louisiana," she answered him with a slight smirk. "It's where I'm from."

"I never heard that twang before," Kirk folded his arms and leant his back to the bar as Dean tended to a customer. "Tell me more."

Eva wiped her hands on the bar rag and draped it back over Kirk's shoulder; she remembered it'd been badly injured in his accident and creeping out from his t-shirt sleeve she could see thick, pink lines of scarring.

"I'm from this little town called Bon Temps," she said. "It's about an hour out of Shreveport. It ain't much of a place to be honest. My brothers and sister are back there though. Well, one brother is."

"Big family huh?" he asked.

"Just a few siblings and my dad," she shrugged one shoulder. "You got any siblings?"

Something in Eva's expression told Kirk that she didn't want to get into it and he respected that. He shuffled his stance and re-crossed his arms.

"I got a little brother," he smiled fondly. "George. He's 18 soon, he's thinking about colleges already."

"One of my brothers is at college in Michigan," she said looking up at him. "He's called Roman, he's 19. My little sister Erin is the same as George give or take a few months."

"How about your other brother?" Kirk laughed a little at the rhyme and Eva cracked a smile.

"Eric's 29, just turned," she said. "And I know, all E's apart from Roman. Nothin' personal, my dad just liked the name a whole lot." 

Kirk smiled a little before he turned to the bar to serve a customer but before he could turn and make the drink, Eva had already done it and was handing it over with a bright and cheery smile that the customer returned.

Once Kirk had handed his change over, he turned back to Eva and gave her a puzzled look.

"So where'd you get this training?" he nodded to her in general and she cracked a smile, leaning against the back of the bar beneath the bottles as some Indie record played overhead.

"I landed a job at a bar in Bon Temps called Merlotte's," she shrugged. "I was a waitress for a little while then Sam showed me the bar. He was sad to see me go when I told him I was off to med school. I went at 21, spent a little time in Baton Rouge and put in to be transferred here."

"You were friendly with the landlord then," Kirk gave her a wink and a nudge.

Eva rolled her eyes and shoved him back before he strolled off into the back, confidently leaving her up front with Dean to serve the customers for a short while.

-

After two hours of her shift around 8ish, she saw Sebastian leading in Molly and Abigail and all three were bundled in coats and scarves. Sebastian's hair was across his face and Molly's cheeks were like rosy red apples.

Sebastian wandered to the bar with the girls in tow and Eva stepped up to serve them as Dean and Kirk watched on.

"It's cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey out there," Sebastian grumbled, perching himself carefully on one of the velvet topped bar stools at the bar whilst the girls sat beside him. "You better appreciate us visiting."

"I don't recall asking you to haul ass into the cold to see me," Eva leant her hands on the bar. "But since you're here and all, thanks."

She gave Seb a wink before she leant over the bar and pecked a cold, white cheek before the blondes expression softened and he ordered a whisky sour whist Molly and Abigail stuck to cokes and their own conversations whilst the music played.

"How's it going anyway?" Sebastian asked after Eva had served another customer or two. "You're not so busy?"

"It's Monday," she shrugged. "Kirk said business is quiet today and tomorrow but Friday and Saturday are his best nights. I don't work Wednesday or Thursday though so I can still lend a hand at the shop."

"You don't have to," Sebastian looked up at her puzzled. "Don't put yourself out Eve's."

"I'm not," she gave him a smile as Kirk and Dean joined her. "I want to."

"Want to what?" Dean enquired with a wiggle of his brow, earning a laugh from Eva.

"Help Seb," she nodded to the blonde who nodded to Dean and Kirk in greeting. "He owns the bookstore on Bergen? I help out sometimes."

"No freakin' way!" Dean's green eyes widened and both Kirk and Eva looked at him in genuine surprise. "You know the comic book store at the end of Bergen? My partner owns that, Cas. He loves your store."

"Snap," Sebastian gave a big grin, teeth and all as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "I love his store too."

"I'll get him in here some time," Dean said with a grin that matched Seb's. "You guys can hang."

"Sure," the blonde offered a second smile and ordered a second whisky as Dean tended to his order and Kirk got the girls another coke.

Eva wiped down the bar before she heard the door go again and when she looked up, she saw Leonard wrapped in a pea coat with his hands deep in the pockets and his chin buried somewhere in the collar to keep warm. 

She smiled and he wandered over, perching on the other side of Sebastian before the blonde realized who he was. 

"Leonard," he crooned, adapting the same doe eyed embarrassing attitude he'd had on the first night he'd met him. "So good to see you again."

Leonard, after meeting Sebastian twice, had quickly gotten used to the flamboyancy and the eye breaking vision ruining assortment of colours he wore, smiled brightly and nodded to him before shaking his hand and nodding to Molly and Abigail who'd thrown him a wave over the blondes shoulder.

"Full house, huh?" Leonard nodded to the three occupied seats to his right and Eva gave a shrug. "I'd have been here sooner but my shift ran over. Sorry."

Leonard looked tired and he needed to shave; his hair was protruding at odd angles and his eyes were heavy and pink.

"You shoulda gone home," Eva looked at him sympathetically. "You look beat."

"I'm fine," he waved a hand in front of himself as if to dispel what she'd said. "Besides, I kinda missed you today. Felt like if I saw your face I'd be fine."

Eva felt her lips twitch into a smile slightly without her say so before she looked at her feet and back to Leonard who was gazing at her from the stool he sat on.

"How's that workin' for ya?" she asked.

"Lot better than I imagined it would," he said, the right side of his mouth pulling into a half grin. "Can I get a scotch?"

"You can have whatever you like," she smiled, tending to his order.

She slid him the glass and gently squeezed his hand, leaving him for a moment before she ventured off to find Kirk in the back taking stock. 

"Hey," she called from the doorway. "Come here a minute?"

Kirk glanced over, his blue gaze resting on Eva as she stood in the door. He set aside the clipboard and wandered to her, limping a little as he did so. She led him out to the bar where Leonard was searching his glass for what looked like the answer to the meaning of life.

"It's 42," Eva squeezed his arm slightly again as he looked at her puzzled. "You know, the meaning of life? Tell me you've read Hitchhikers."

When Leonard got the reference, he laughed and Eva shook her head with a small smile before stepping to the side to reveal Kirk standing behind her. Leonard looked up at him and Kirk looked back as Eva left them to it, tending to other customers in the bar. 

"I knew she knew you," Kirk mock scowled after her before looking back to Leonard who raised one perfect brow.

"It's recent," he cleared it up for him. "Trust me."

"So what, you're like dating?" Kirk's blonde brow furrowed over his glacial eyes and Leonard took a slight enjoyment in watching his confusion. "Married, engaged, what?"

"We ain't anything yet," Leonard sipped on his drink. "Not that it's any of your damn business but we're datin' some."

"Lucky," Kirk leant on the bar in front of Leonard as he remained looking at Kirk with that jaundiced look. 

"You and I got a lot in common then, huh?" he nodded to Kirk as he downed his drink and requested another. "You got your health back."

Kirk snorted and handed him another before standing before him again comfortably. 

He'd been in a state when he'd come in through the ER. He was missing skin, bones were poking out of places they shouldn't have been and the amount of blood had the nurses and doctors convinced that he wouldn't pull through. His rightshoulder had been badly damaged along with his right shin and ankle as that had been the side he'd landed on and Leonard had done his best to mend what he could' he noticed Kirk's limp and the way he held his right arm but chose not to say anything. 

"Well, you do," Leonard nursed his drink this time. "How are you healin' anyhow?"

"Pretty good I guess," Kirk shrugged only his left shoulder and Leonard wondered if he was in pain. "I've got scars all over but I guess you're right."

"You in pain?" he asked, frowning at his shoulder. "I can tell you are even if you say no. I can write you a prescription for stronger medication if you want me to."

Kirk weighed up his options for a moment; the current medication worked but only for a short amount of time. He'd told his routine doctor this but he'd just prescribed him more; sometimes Kirk couldn't even move in a morning the pain was so bad.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Kirk gave a curt nod. "My regular doc don't wanna know."

"Call it a favour for lookin' out for Eva," Leonard's hazel eyes found her at the other end of the bar laughing with Dean whilst they both watch Sebastian poorly play Asteroids.

"She looked out for me," Kirk said. "So did you."

"Well this is my thanks for this," Leonard managed some sort of smile. "After what happened and all."

"Yeah, I heard," Kirk scratched the back of his neck. "It wasn't her fault."

"She knows that," Leonard gave a nod. "I'll get Eva to pass on your prescription."

"Thanks Bones," Kirk began to wipe the bar top and Leonard glanced at him and the name again.

"Leonard," he corrected him.

"I like Bones better," he grinned.


	14. Chapter 14

The night wore on and the group came together, laughing and joking and sharing stories as they all got to know one another better. When the bar closed at midnight, Eva drove Leonard home, dropped Seb and Molly off on the way back and retired to bed after she'd pulled Abigail up the stairs behind her. 

Tuesday was even slower than the Monday but she, Kirk and Dean had passed the time playing cards and serving the odd one or two customers that came in to drink and not just play the games.

When Wednesday rolled around, Eva was glad she wasn't working and she headed over to The Raconteur with Abigail to lend a hand to Sebastian and Molly. 

Molly had closed The Den to give it a good clean and that's where Abigail resided, singing terribly to The Smiths, Sebastian was in the back sorting out the records with his over the dead earphones plugged into the jukebox and Eva occupied herself by standing the books back upright in the store and finding space for a few that still resided in boxes. 

Though The Den was closed, The Raconteur was open and the bell chimed cheerily as someone entered. Sebastian hadn’t heard it since his ears were covered by headphones and Abigail and Molly were already occupied in their own tasks, so it fell to Eva to greet the customer and offer a helping hand should he so need one. 

She stood from having been sat cross legged on the floor, tending to a lower shelf and moved to the counter as her customer stood before her. It was a skinny man with jet black hair and tortoiseshell glasses. 

He gave her a briefly confused look before it was swapped for a pleasant smile as she perched on the high chair, lifted the needle on the record and laid her hands on the counter.

“Hi,” she said. “Can I help you or are you cool with just browsing?”

Her eyes did a sweeping look of his ensemble; a sky blue shirt, a navy cardigan and a skinny, plaid tie in cream and navy. She wondered how he wasn’t half freezing to death since his sleeves, both shirt and cardigan, were rolled up at mismatched angles to his elbows. 

The weather was pretty shocking today; a thick, wet mist and a chilling bite in the air made for an unpleasant day ahead.

He frowned slightly once more as his left hand clutched at the leather strap of a messenger bag hanging from his shoulder.

“I was wondering if Sebastian was around,” he said.

Eva tried not to show surprise on her face due to his accent but she guessed she did since the man ducked his head to hide a slight smile. Over his shoulder she could see Abigail and Molly peering around the arch that led into the den, Abigail ducked under Molly with a slightly raised brow as she looked over the skinny man. 

Eva regarded him for a mere moment before some kind of singing filled the silent air. Well, that’s if it could even pass for singing; it sounded more like forced torture to Eva. 

“That would be the man in question,” Eva said as they both paused to listen to the awful singing, the man smiling ever so slightly. “Who shall I say is calling?”

“Oh, James,” he answered her as he pushed his glasses up his nose and fiddled with his bag strap some more. “Professor Moriarty, even. And may I say, you have amazingly green eyes. I’ve only ever seen eyes that green on a Panthera Pardus before. A rare sight for a human being I think.”

She frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing on the so called professor as she slid from the chair and slowly walked out from behind the counter. She could see Molly and Abigail hiding their laughter, hands covering their mouths.

“Uh, thanks, I think,” she gave an unsure nod before she grabbed a box of still sealed vinyls and smiled all the same. “I’ll inform the owner of your presence if you'll excuse me for just a second.”

James gave a nod and stood awkwardly as Eva ducked into the small room at the back of the shop with the words ‘Vinyl Vault’ lit up in red neon lighting above the door, the annoying clatter of a garish green beaded curtain filling the shop as she passed through it. 

Sebastian was still singing, albeit a little quieter now and for just one blissful and hilarious moment she stood, watched and listened as he poorly sang along to ‘All Along The Watchtower’. 

When she couldn’t bare it anymore, she tapped the blonde on the shoulder and he almost jumped out of his skin. 

“When you’ve finished slaying Hendrix,” she said as Sebastian regained his composure with a scowl in her direction. “There’s a man in the store who said I have eyes like a panther or something.”

“That’s nice,” Sebastian grunted as he moved to put his headphones back on. 

“He’s also a young professor,” she said crossing her arms as she leant against the jukebox.   
“James Moriarty?”

Tossing the headphones aside, Sebastian scrambled up and sent a stack of records sliding across the concrete floor. Rolling her eyes, Eva tidied them up and followed after him back out into the store before taking her perch on the stairs up to the balcony with a book.

She had no intention of reading it, but peering over the top of it to curiously watch Sebastian and the professor. Abigail was frowning at her from The Den but Eva gave a shrug; the hell if she knew what was going on.

“I wasn’t sure you were here,” James said with his hands still clasping tight to the bag strap over his shoulder. “I probably should have called ahead but there’s no number listed for this place. Course, I’d have it if you’d called.”

His eyes dropped to Sebastian’s clothing which seemed surprisingly tame. He wore a jumper with a none too pleasant pattern, but the colours weren’t too blinding, they were almost neutral. Browns and creams and deep reds adorned his torso, the sleeves covering half of his hands and a creased, light denim coloured collar stuck out from the neck of the jumper. 

He was missing his glasses that were tucked into the breast pocket of the knitted eyesore and as James peered up at his face, Sebastian realised his glasses were missing and quickly dragged them from his pocket. 

“Sorry, I meant to call,” he answered him, not feeling ultimately happy about having this conversation in front of the three girls who were also in the shop; asking him to go upstairs or elsewhere would cause mass curiosity and probably a joke or three. “In fact I was going to when I was done at the store today. We’re cleaning out, kind of.”

“More like making an organized mess,” Eva offered as she ducked behind her book.

She was scalded with a quick ‘shh’ from Sebastian and she pulled a face at him that James didn't see. Molly and Abigail had long since stopped cleaning and now sat at a table in The Den where they could see Sebastian and James; all that was missing was a box of popcorn.

“I was going to ask if you were free for a coffee...” James trailed off as he glanced at the half upturned state of The Den. “But I guess that’s out of it.”

“There’s plenty of work to do though,” Eva spoke again from behind the book. “I’m sure the incentive of coffee for work may be appealing.”

“Eva don’t you have records to alphabetize?” Sebastian glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“I thought you were doing-”

“Eva,” he forced a smile and cocked his head towards the back of the store.

“Well, who’s gonna do all this?” she said, gesturing to the half emptied box in front of the shelving unit she’d been sorting. “The magic book fairy?” 

“I don’t mind lending a hand,” James shrugged a bony shoulder as he looked at Sebastian through crooked glasses. “I like books. Besides, you’re here.” 

Eva went to make a comment as she saw Molly and Abigail suppressing huge, cheesy grins as they watched the pair like they were watching one of Molly’s soppy romcoms. No, one of Molly’s soppy British romcoms; although never in a month of Sunday’s would Eva actually admit that she enjoyed Love Actually or that she found Hugh Grant marginally attractive.

“Eva,” Sebastian’s teeth were almost gritted. “The records.”

“Jeeze,” she gave a deep sigh.

She tossed her book to the side and slid from the high stool as she crossed the shop floor. Several shelves stopped by the door to the Vinyl Vault and Eva looked at one that she’d not wholly filled yet. The books were neat and as she looked from that to Sebastian, she jabbed her index finger against the very last book and set off a domino effect down the shelf. 

“Oops,” she said innocently with a sardonic smile. “More work for you.”

She didn’t catch the daggers Sebastian was glaring at her as she ventured into the room so instead he glared them at Abigail and Molly who needed no extra push after that to get back to work. 

James placed his bag on the counter and looked to the blonde for further instruction, but he sighed heavily and looked at James with an awkward smile.

“You really honestly don’t have to stay,” he said stuffing his hands into the mustard yellow jeans he was wearing today. “We can catch up later if you’re free.”

“But I really honestly want to,” James answered him and Sebastian imagined him pouting again. “Besides, it’s cold outside and really kind of quaint in here. Tell me what I can do.” 

Music began to play from the Vinyl Vault and Sebastian figured Eva had pulled the earphone jack out. It took him a second or so to recognize the song and a second longer for his cheeks to flush scarlet making his blonde hair look stark in comparison.

‘Wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything groovy.’

James at least found the humours side of it whilst Sebastian stood with a ferocious blush across his cheekbones; it was a wonder his glasses weren’t steaming up in the process. What made it worse was that he could hear Molly and Abigail’s giggles and if he could hear that, James probably could too, even over the sound of The Troggs. 

But he was smiling. Really, properly smiling so much that there were small creases in the corners of his eyes and shallow dimples in the pale skin of his cheeks. Sebastian’s tensed jaw slackened somewhat at that and he invited James to sit with him to finish sorting out what Eva had started as more ‘implied songs for the moment’ leaked out of the Vinyl Vault. 

If anything, Sebastian had to congratulate the song choices even he was embarrassed to high heaven and back. Queen had been a British band, one of Sebastian’s favourites, and there Eva was playing one of their tracks. 

‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ served as background music as they worked and once Sebastian felt sure the others were working and not lurking, he struck up a conversation with James.

“Did you tell her she had eyes like a panther?” Sebastian nodded his head to the room beside them. 

“Panthera Pardus,” James corrected him as he frowned slightly at a book in his hands. “Scientific name for a leopard which is part of the cat family, Felidae; they have stunningly green eyes.”

“I thought they had yellow eyes,” Sebastian answered him, standing a handful of books on the shelf in alphabetical order. “I thought most big cats did.”

“Depends on the cat,” James turned to him inquisitively. “Snow leopards have blue, green or grey eyes, Amur leopards living in Russia have green eyes and lions, tigers and cheetahs tend to have the tawny colour, so if anything, she’s got eyes like an Amur leopard. Green eyes are rare in the human race, Amur leopards are even rarer in the animal kingdom; there’s not many of them left.”

Sebastian was bewildered by the amount of knowledge that James held in his brain; dinosaurs were his special subject but he had a vast amount of knowledge about other things too. Before he could stop himself, Sebastian uttered something that sounded to him, incredibly stupid.

“I bet you could win a tonne of money on a quiz show,” he said before mentally cursing himself.  
“Who, me?” James laughed his musical laugh as he placed a couple of books on the shelf and Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat or six. “No, I’m not very good with crap knowledge.”

Sebastian almost dropped the dusty, cloth bound volume in his hand as James cursed. Everybody cursed, Sebastian probably more than a sailor, but it stunned him for a mere second to hear something of the sort fall from James’s mouth. 

Perhaps his expectations of professors were all wrong; they were only human after all.

“Crap knowledge?” Sebastian finally asked.

“Mhm,” James made a thoughtful sound as he flicked through the aged pages of a philosophy text. “You know films, celebrities, sports etc. I don’t know much about pointless things.”

Sebastian smiled a little as James handed him the text to slide between two books at his end of the shelf.

“I presume you know a lot about books?” he enquired. “And I suppose music.”

“I guess,” Sebastian nodded. “It’s not nearly as impressive as what you know though.” 

“Maybe not,” James gave a shrug as he pulled the last of the books from the box. “But it’s interesting to me.”

He gave the blonde a smile over the top of the box and a blush warmed his cheeks again. James separated the books as Sebastian nudged the box out of the way and concentrated on the song Eva was playing now.

‘She said she loves you, and you know that can’t be bad, yes she loves you, and you know you should be glad.’

Sebastian was running an internal monologue that went along the lines of; ‘Eva really hates The Beatles, she’s playing it because she knows it’s going to annoy me. I bet there are endless places you could hide a body in NYC. I’d probably be doing Leonard a favour too. No, that’s mean. But she’s being mean too. Do I deserve it? Probably. What’s the word she uses when I bug her? Insufferable. This must be what that means. I wonder how Abigail copes with us, we act like little kids...'

“Sebastian?” James’s voice roused him from his thoughts; he’d been staring off into space and he gave James a puzzled look. “I said are you all right?”

“Uh,” he said, dazed. “Yeah, I’m good.”

James gave a slight laugh and went back to organizing the shelf as Sebastian came back down to Earth and did the same.

“So, what are your friend’s names?” he finally asked. “How do you know them?” 

“You saw the other two in The Den, huh?” Sebastian glanced up and caught the professor’s eye.  
“Not hard to miss them,” he smiled. “I take it they all work here?”

Sebastian finished up the shelf and James placed on book on the end and he helped Sebastian straighten up the books Eva had knocked over just to be an annoyance before he followed the blonde into The Den.

Sebastian made two coffees by himself before he sent Molly and Abigail into The Raconteur out of their way. Placing a coffee before James, Sebastian took a seat, happy to have a chair to lean back on. 

“Molly works here,” he finally answered him as he folded his arms on the edge of the table. “She’s the sweet one with the braid over her shoulder. I’ve known her longest; we used to work together before.”

“Before?” James asked.

“Uh, well, I used to be an accountant,” he gave a shrug. “Me and Molly worked for the same place and we both got outsourced to New York. Apart from our company went bust and I guess that’s all she wrote.”

James looked pleasantly surprised at the story of Sebastian being an accountant; he just couldn’t picture that once upon a time the cardigan wearing bookkeeper had kept books of an entirely different kind. 

“And the others?” he lolled his head to one side slightly. “Your leopard eyed friend, she seems wild if you’ll excuse the pun.”

“That’s Eva, short for Evelina but she’ll probably punch you if you ever call her that seen as she hates it so much,” he gave a shrug, smiling at a long ago memory of such a thing happening when Sebastian had been too drunk to remember. “She used to work at Brooklyn Hospital, she was a resident doctor ‘til she got fired. It wasn’t her fault, but I guess it worked out for the best, she works at a bar down on Union now.” 

“The other ones Abigail, she’s Molly’s girlfriend and she and Eva live together,” he carried on as James nodded. “Abigail is the one Molly and I owe the most to. Abigail’s a waitress at Olive Garden, we met her while we were still doing accounting. She and Molly fell in love and then the company went bust. Molly didn’t want to go home and leave Abigail so Abigail let us live with them until we found our own feet. That’s how we then met Eva.”

“So you lived with them for a while,” James smiled. “That’s really sweet of them.”

“Yeah, but now they can’t wait to kick us out of their apartment,” Sebastian laughed a little as he took a drink of his coffee. “It’s cliché I suppose, but we’re like a little family.”

And then it dawned on James as if Sebastian’s words had just sunk in. ‘Outsourced’ and ‘home’ struck a frown across his brow and he glanced at Sebastian. 

“You’re not American,” he stated. 

“No,” Sebastian gave a laugh. “I’m British; I’m from London.”

James’s melodious laugh filled the blonde’s ears again, but this time it was to the tune of surprise. 

“You look like a typical New Yorker,” James was still laughing slightly. “I’ve come across some strange finds in my time, but you’re by far the strangest.”

Sebastian didn’t know whether to be offended or charmed and luckily he didn’t have to decide since Eva had strolled into The Den. 

“I finished sorting your records,” she said to Sebastian as she stole a quick glance at James who was taking a drink of his coffee. 

“Thanks,” Sebastian gave a nod before he looked to James. “Um, Eva, this is Professor James Moriarty, he curates at The Natural History Museum. James, Doctor Eva Clarke.”

“That’s a lot of titles in one sentence,” Eva said stepping forwards to offer a hand which the professor took and shook gently if not shyly. “But please, it's just Eva. It’s nice to meet you.”

He gave her a curt nod and Eva looked to Sebastian for further instruction but James finished his coffee and stood. 

“I apologise but I have a meeting at the museum this evening,” he said looking to Sebastian. “I’ve got to get back to the Upper East Side; it’s a bloody long way.”

“Yeah, it’s a shocker,” Eva said making conversation. “Do you drive?”

“I do,” he nodded. “But not in the city; that is a shocker.”

Eva broke a charming smile as Sebastian ushered James back into the store to collect his things. She decided to linger behind and seeing that she had done, Abigail and Molly joined her.

“I had a pleasant time,” James said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “Not a bad first date.”

“D-date?” Sebastian’s cheeks were cherry red, his toes pointed inwards and his hands nervously clenching and unclenching by his sides.

“Well, no it doesn’t have to be,” James gave a slight shrug, smiling at Sebastian’s deeply reddening cheeks. “Depends if you mind.”

“I don’t-,” Sebastian started, but stopped to stutter a little. “I don’t mind, no.”

“Good.”

James rocked on his heels slightly, noticing that Sebastian’s glasses were crooked. Standing on his toes to reach, his pale and steady fingers rested on the edge of the frames and straightened them up with a thin smile.

“I don’t mind either,” he said. “Be honest, you’re just a tiny bit pleased.”

No words crossed Sebastian’s lips as James removed his hands from his glasses, but a small smile did and that was all James needed to crack a large grin.

“I’ll call you,” Sebastian said as James reached the door. “Later, I mean. Or tomorrow. Maybe?”

“Whenever,” James smiled at Sebastian once more tripping over his words. “Call me whenever. Goodbye, Sebastian.”

As soon as the door closed behind him, the three girls circled the blonde with curious looks.

“His voice is so sexy,” Abigail spoke first. “It’s like liquid silk; you could listen to it for hours.”

“His laugh is so cute,” Molly added. “He seems really sweet.”

“And his glasses are adorable,” Eva cooed. “All rounded and crooked.”

Sebastian groaned loudly but also felt a pang of jealousy; James wasn’t his by a long shot, but he didn’t really like what he was hearing.

“Okay, alright, you have a girlfriend,” he pointed to Abigail then Molly who looked at one another and laughed; it wasn’t like they were going to leave one another for the cute Irishman that had strolled in a little over an hour ago. “And you have a boyfriend.”

He stared at Eva but she just grinned back at him.

“No, I don’t,” she said shaking her head. “I have the occasional date with Leonard, we’re not...you know. God, I hate those terms, they’re real childish.”

“What would you rather call him?” Abigail asked. “Partner? Companion? Your better half?”

“Better half, that’s funny,” she said flatly without a smile. “As for companion, I’m not a Time Lord.”

Sebastian sighed deeply and strolled away as the conversation headed in a different direction. James had counted this encounter as a date; perhaps he would the next one too. He supposed he ought to step up his game and think of a place to go next since he was going to call him, but maybe by some stroke of luck, James would come up with something intelligent and brilliant.   
Well, maybe luck wasn’t needed; James was brilliant and intelligent enough as it was. 

A moment later, Eva roused him from his thoughts whilst Molly and Abigail pulled on their jackets and scarves.

“I get it now,” she gave him a small smile.

“Get what?” he frowned, his glasses sliding slightly down his nose. 

“That you’re not trailing after old professors around the museum learning about fossils and stuff as a hobby,” she said. “You’re trailing around after the professor. I don’t blame you, he is pretty gorgeous.”

Sebastian gave a grumble and Eva smiled before he turned back to her.

“He is,” he reluctantly agreed as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “He’s intelligent and he’s got this amazing laugh and voice and I don’t know what good I did to deserve something as good as that. As him.”

Sebastian looked down at his boots, his feet shuffling slightly as his shoulders slouched. His unruly fringe fell over his face and Eva’s expression softened with sympathy.

“Seb? Don’t act like you don’t deserve this,” her palm gently clasped around his forearm, the fabric of the jumper soft beneath it. “Because you do. You have the shop and you have us, but it’s about time you deserved something just a little bit better, don’t you think so?” 

She was of course referring to his company going bust and everything he’d had to deal with since. Sebastian had always been caught up in his books or his music and the running of the shop, in all the time the girls had known him, he’d had a grand total of two relationships that didn’t even turn out to be that.

“He’s too much better,” he sighed.

“No, he’s not,” she smiled. “He’s perfect; he likes dinosaurs.”

“He named a stegosaurus skeleton Spike,” he glanced up at her, the memory making him smile slightly. “You know because of its spiked tail?”

Eva’s brow rose in amusement and Sebastian felt his cheeks flush slightly. 

“You’re going to be such dorks,” she sighed with a smile. “We’re going for dinner, you wanna join us? I think we’re hitting Olive Garden.”

“Nah, I’ll pass,” he smiled. “See you tomorrow?”

“Call James first,” she answered, pecking his cheek before she tugged on her jacket. “I’d be more than happy to watch the shop if you...y’know. Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

The blonde gave a nod and Eva followed Abigail and Molly from the store, leaving Sebastian alone to the sound of the jukebox.


	15. Chapter 15

Eva's days off had come around quick again and she wondered what Leonard had been up to. She hadn't seen him last Wednesday or Thursday, he'd had to work long hours to cover other staff who were on holiday, but he'd called on a couple of mornings just to see how she was.

Without him, her drawl was fading out and re-entering the realms of typical New Yorker and she missed him something fierce which surprised her. 

They'd had two dates, three if you counted the jaunt they took to The City with Sebastian but she didn't, or four if you counted the first time they had coffee together after work but she didn't count that either. 

She missed the way he'd look at her with that single raised eyebrow with the threat of a grin on his lips. She missed how he'd get flustered and turn pink when he said something he wasn't so sure of but most of all she missed his scent; the clean cotton and vanilla and the soft flannel of the shirt he'd given her to keep. 

She sighed deeply as she looked at the television but didn't really watch it. It was windy out and the sky was grey; it looked as though it might rain. 

"So what are we doing for Halloween?" Abigail launched herself into the seat beside Eva, startling her slightly. "Seb says they're doing something in Central Park, he was on about going. It's on Sunday night."

"Is he asking James along?" Eva turned to her.

"He didn't say," she shrugged. "But he does want you to bring Leonard."

"I'll ask," she said. "Did you get a pumpkin?"

"I got three," Abigail grinned. "You wanna carve them with me?"

Eva looked at the smile on her face and mirrored it; in between them both working and Abigail spending much of her free time with Molly, she rarely saw her anymore. With an enthusiastic nod, Eva got up and followed Abigail to the kitchen to help her carve. 

-

Her shift on Saturday night hadn't been half as bad as she was expecting it to be. On the Friday she'd helped the boys hang decorations and put out pumpkins. Spider webs trailed the bar and skeletons were pinned to walls along with black and orange streamers and large bowls of candy corn on the bar top. 

On the Sunday morning, Eva headed over to The Raconteur and whilst the sun shone in daylight outside, the inside of the store was dark and dismal. 

Sebastian had traded the lamps in favour of church candles that were placed in clusters and already dripping wax everywhere from the stairs to his desk. The stool behind his table was gone, traded for a high backed chair that looked like it came straight from a gothic novel all deep red velvet and black leather and even the arch into The Den was decorated with hanging cobwebs and streams of black tissue paper.

Sebastian wasn't behind his desk and no one was in the store. She figured Molly might be in The Den but she didn't hear anything. She crossed the shop floor cautiously, her feet making the dusty floorboards creak, her footsteps hollow and echoing around the place.

It was eerie with the candles flickering, their flames throwing ugly and strange shadows up and across the bookcases. God damn Sebastian and his need to go completely over the top.

"Seb?" she called out. "You here?"

She'd made it to the desk with the gothic chair and noticed that three pillar candles had molded together at the bases where the wax had run from them and was currently making a jagged tube where it attempted to run from the desk and drip into waxy puddle beneath.

"Boo."

Eva felt the breath tickle her neck and she jumped with a small shriek before she turned, wild and wide eyed to see the six foot something frame of Sebastian laughing hysterically. 

"Don't do that!" she smacked him hard on the arm but it didn't deter him from laughing. "You scared the living hell out of me!"

"Well," Sebastian caught his breath and slumped into the new chair behind his desk. "It is Halloween."

She turned to him and glared, surprised that his frame fitted so comfortably in the gothic eyesore. His hands moved over his desk, tidying up this and that before he neatened up a stack of books that Eva curiously read the spines of.

There were selected works by Poe and a handful of Stephen King novels, but the book Sebastian placed in front of him to read was The Dunwich Horror.

"H.P Lovecraft?" Eva gave him a skeptical look, glancing over the too big bright orange and black striped sweater he wore that had several holes in. "You're going all out huh."

"Go hard or go home," Sebastian peered over the top of his glasses as he flipped the book open to the page he was at. "You coming tonight?"

"Is James?" she returned, thumbing through one of the books from the pile.

"I think so," he said, shoving his glasses up his nose. "But I think they're running something at the museum, like an after hours event? He said he can get me tickets if we wanted to do it. Said he'd take us round on our own."

"Seriously?" Eva looked up at him with a grin. "That sounds amazing!"

"You really wanna do that?" the blonde frowned. "I thought you might think it was boring."

"Not even!" she laughed and placed the book back into the pile. "Seb, it'd just be us in the museum, it'd be so cool!"

"I suppose," he smiled ever so slightly; maybe it would be cool. "Is Leonard coming?"

"Yeah, he is," she nodded with a small smile. "I called him this morning, Please don't tell me we have to dress up."

"Optional," Sebastian gave a grin. "But wear something halloween-y."

"You mean like your sweater?" she nodded to the holey eyesore. "I can do that."

"Cool," he gave a nod. "We're all meeting here about 6, then we're grabbing the subway."

"Awesome," she said, shrugging her bag back onto her shoulder. "I'll see you then."

\--

Abigail took the trip over to Sebastian's place with Eva and Leonard in Leonard's car after he graciously offered the girls a ride. There was a slight mist of rain in the air, like it wanted to rain but was holding off for as long as possible.

Leonard left his car parked behind Sebastian's Pontiac and they fell into step with one another as they headed for the underground stop. Molly and Abigail walked hand in hand, bundled up in their warm coats; as per Sebastian's request, Molly wore a black scarf and orange gloves and Abigail had done her eye make up in the same colours.

Sebastian walked with Eva and Leonard, Leonard between the pair of them with his hands sunk firmly into his coat pockets and his chin snug in the collar of the deep blue pea coat he wore. He wasn't wearing Halloween colours, Eva hadn't wanted to subject him to such shenanigans. 

Sebastian also still wore his clothes from earlier, though he'd showered since. His hair lifted on the slight cold breeze and splayed across his forehead as he fought against it to keep it flopping down the right side of his face.

To keep the blonde happy, Eva had painted her nails in alternating orange and black and even worn a striped scarf that matched Sebastian's jumper. 

They crowded together on the subway, Sebastian standing taller than the lot of them with Leonard coming in a close second. Sebastian stood between the two couples holding a rail and Eva stood in front of Leonard, squashed close enough to him to catch a lingering waft of his scent that made her want to lay her head on his chest. 

Instead, she smiled sweetly at him when he caught her staring and whilst holding on with one hand, she straightened out his collar and made him smile himself.

Along with a plethora of other people, they were headed off at the Central Park stop. Eva spotted several people in costume walking through the subway stations; girls in pink wigs and glittering fairy wings, men dressed as superheroes.

Sebastian being the tallest, led the way out of the station, his brilliant blonde hair acting like the beacon they ought to follow. Eva reached into Leonard's pocket and grasped one of his hands before weaving her fingers through his.

His grip was firm but soft around her own dainty hand; he didn't want to lose her in the crowd of people and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Molly and Abigail were still following which they were. 

Above ground, people disbanded to where they wanted to be and Central Park was positively alive with music and mischief. 

From Leonard's side, he heard Eva give a slight shriek and felt her hand tighten around his. As he turned to see what was the matter, he saw two men pass them by, their clothes spattered with false blood, their faces looking like their flesh was hanging off.

"Eva's always been a real wimp at Halloween," Sebastian rolled his eyes as he looked at Leonard who looked puzzled at Eva's reaction. "She's just a wuss."

"You celebrate Halloween in the back towns of Louisiana and see if you're still smilin'," she shot the blonde a poisonous look and Leonard looked between the pair. 

"You celebrate Halloween different down there?" he asked Eva as Sebastian led them into the park.

The parks pathways were lined with flickering lit pumpkins; some had smiles and cute expressions, others looked more sinister and deadly, their down turned lips carved into sharp corners with even sharper teeth. 

"Not really," she shrugged as they walked. "Just my older brother used to scare me stupid when I was a kid with ghost stories. When he got old enough to drive, he coaxed me out one Halloween and we went ghost huntin' in all these haunted places."

"Your brother sounds a hoot," Leonard said.

"My brother scared the hell outta me for life," she glanced at him, half with a smile and half with a scowl as she remembered Eric's antics. "He took me to this one place called Forbing that's about an hour and a half outta Bon Temps and he's telling me this story as he's driving through the town about these train tracks that run through there. Allegedly, a long time ago, a man got hit by a train there and it took off his head and supposedly you can see him trailing the tracks with a lantern looking for said head."

Leonard stifled a laugh; that sounded like any other ghost story that any other person would tell kids sitting around a camp fire on a scout trip, but he could tell she wasn't done with the story yet.

"Anyway, Eric parks up at the side of these rail tracks and convinces me to get out of the car and take a peek, so I did," she said. "When he was satisfied, he let me get back in the car, except he popped the trunk and came out with this bag of flour."

"I love this ghost story," Seb suddenly fell into step with them both. "It's creepy as hell." 

"It ain't no story Seb," she shot him another look before returning to her story. "Anyway, Eric's got this bag of flour and he's talking to me through my open window, telling me this other story he heard. Supposedly, a school bus full of kids got hit by a train there one time and Eric heard from his buddy that if you throw flour over the windshield of the car and leave it in neutral, that the spirits of the kids try and shove your car onto the tracks and their handprints appear in the flour."

Leonard was seriously interested and he noticed that Eva was a pale as a sheet. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and gave her a smile.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"Exactly that," she answered. "Eric left the car in neutral when he'd thrown the flour over the windshield and it started to move. Then these weird marks appeared in the flour. I'd never seen Eric so afraid before but he put his foot down and got the Sam Hell outta there. He didn't say anything about it for days but when our younger siblings were born, he used to threaten that the headless man from Forbing would come get 'em if they didn't go right to bed on time."

"He never mentioned the kids or the school bus?" Leonard frowned.

"Not once," she said. "My brother don't like to admit to much and he ain't ever gonna admit to bein' terrified by something he thought was just a stupid story."

"You can't blame her for being a little jumpy about Halloween," Sebastian shrugged to Leonard as Eva marveled at a large pumpkin patch that had been set up near the boating lake and strung with fairy lights. "But you gotta admit, it's funny to watch her jump at the tiniest thing."

Leonard cracked a smile as Sebastian wandered off to purchase a candied apple. All around them people were in costume; some gruesome and grotesque, others serene and sweet and all of it came together in one weird and wonderful combination. 

"I'd love to meet Eric," Leonard said as he looked at the pumpkin patch with her. "How much older than you is he?"

"Two years give or take," she shrugged. "He's as tall as Seb, got these killer cheekbones and pallor that could make a vampire jealous. Plus he's blonde."

Leonard puzzled at her for a moment and she gave a grin.

"He's my real siblin', don't worry," she grinned even wider. "He and my other brother Roman look alike except Roman's hair is a bit darker. Me and my little sister look very alike; same green eyes and thick dark hair. Eric looks like our mother, the rest of us look like dad."

"Big family, huh?" he asked.

Leonard didn't know much about big families since he hadn't come from one; it'd all mostly just been him and his parents with the occasional aunt coming to visit. Eva had all these siblings and all these weird and wonderful stories and Leonard felt drab and dreary in comparison.

"I guess," she shrugged and Leonard couldn't help but notice it was uncomfortably. "Come on, let's check the rest of this out, it looks awesome."

She took his hand in a gentle grip but he squeezed gently, letting her know he was right there if she decided she wanted to talk about it before he obligingly followed her toward the lake were a ghost ship sat in the shallows, beckoning passers by to climb aboard if they dared.


	16. Chapter 16

They wandered and strolled, sometimes together, sometimes splitting ways and meeting back up later. Leonard held Eva's hand and swung it idly between them, enjoying the evening wholly as they glanced around at the ghoulish sights.

Leonard stopped to talk to Sebastian and Eva strolled on ahead, setting foot on Bow Bridge that was decorated with a plethora of flickering pumpkins and several men dressed up as skeletons who tried to terrify passers by.

Eva strayed away from the men and walked at the opposite side of the bridge, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor until a hand grabbed her wrist and twisted her around. Vivid blue eyes looked upon her mischievously as the shriek that had been building subsided and replaced itself with an angered glare.

"Don't do that!" she snatched her hand back from Kirk who was grinning ear to ear. 

"Why?" he folded his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Did it scare you?"

She huffed and glared once more before she noticed Dean approaching and frowned, looking back to Kirk. 

"Yeah we hang out outside the bar too y'know," he raised a perfect blonde eyebrow. "We were gonna call you but I figured you'd already be here with your friends."

Kirk rubbed the back of his neck anxiously before Leonard appeared at his side, closely followed by Sebastian and the girls. Dean greeted Eva and she noticed he had a friend with him.

"Eva, this is Cas," he introduced the man at his side; he was short with fluffy black hair, cerulean eyes and an awkward gait. "Cas, Eva, my new work mate."

Cas held out a hand and Eva shook it firmly taking in his attire. He looked like the nerdy kid who'd raided the football teams locker room at half time. He wore jeans turned up at the bottom, a button up sky blue shirt and a varsity jacket for NYU with red sneakers and much like Sebastian, he had the nerdy glasses too. 

Whilst Eva tried to decide whether Cas was in costume or not, Sebastian made pleasantries with Kirk and Dean introduced Cas to everyone else before Sebastian pulled Eva to the side.

"You can invite them along if you want," he offered. "Jim said the more the merrier."

"You sure?" she asked glancing at the congregation where Cas was smiling along with Molly. "I don't wanna impede."

"It's not impeding," he grinned. "It's fun. Besides, maybe I can walk with Kirk whilst Jim's explaining stuff."

Eva nodded and Sebastian pulled out his cell, shooing Eva off to deliver the good news.

"You got any plans for the rest of the night?" she asked Kirk who looked like he'd been getting on Leonard's last nerve.

Leonard stood with his arms folded, his hazel eyes blazing with annoyance as Eva stood facing the pair. 

"We were just gonna wander," Kirk shrugged a shoulder and Leonard rolled his eyes, seeing the smoldering look he was giving Eva. "Unless you got a better offer."

"That didn't work in the hospital and it won't work here," she nudged him playfully and glanced to Leonard who, even though he was stood a step or so away, looked like he was stood by himself. "We're heading over to The Natural History Museum, my friends friend is a curator there, he has passes for after hours tours if you wanna join us."

"Seriously?" Dean perked up and looked over to her. "That'd be awesome, come on Kirk."

Kirk looked skeptical and he wasn't all that interested in museums and history but it was starting to get a little colder and he was getting bored of all the crowds and really, all the kids. Besides, it looked as though it might rain at any given moment; the promised clear nights sky by the weatherman was being covered with thick, dark clouds. 

At that moment, Sebastian came over and asked how many passes and Kirk shrugged and nodded, indicating he had nothing to lose by tagging along. Eva did some quick math and held up eight fingers causing Seb to grin as he put in his request.

"Cool, we'll be over in a half hour," Sebastian smiled into the phone before he put it down and rounded up the troops. "Let's head over then, yeah?"

"Yeah," Eva nodded over to Kirk as he turned to fall in step with the others and Sebastian got her meaning and toddled off in front to keep him company whilst everyone else paired off. 

Eva yanked Leonard's hand, waking him up from his bored stupor and he looked at her surprised. Her smile was wide, her eyes glistening and the greenest he'd ever seen them.

"Kirk drools over you," he grunted. "Real puppy dog eyes and all."

"So what?" she glanced to her side, lacing her fingers through Leonard's. 

"So, he's Kirk," he frowned, his forehead creasing over his dark brow. "He's a charmer."

"No, he's charming," she said. "But not to me. He reminds me too much of my big brother for me to find him attractive. Besides, I like you, don't worry about Kirk."

She squeezed his hand to let him know she meant it and Leonard relaxed a little. All the others had wandered off in front and Eva could just about see Sebastian's blonde head amongst the crowd. She stopped for a moment, still clutching Leonard's hand and pulled him to her and claimed his lips with a big, sweet kiss that turned his cheeks scarlet.

For a moment, he laughed like a kid through surprise before it subsided into a grin that he wore the whole journey through the park to the museum.

\--

The crowds were thinner this end of the park and there was a zombie garden that really gave Eva the heebie jeebies. In fact, she almost dropped Leonard's hand and sprinted past it all together; there was something about how real the make up looked that unsettled her to her bones.

They made it out of the park and stood at the opposite side of the road to The Natural History Museum and gaped up. Images were being projected onto it from who knows where of ghosts and pumpkins and bats and the stone pillars at the front were bathed in violet and orange light. 

As they scaled the front steps, Eva noticed little cauldrons and wicker cats lining the stairs as opposed to the pumpkins that seemed to be literally everywhere else; Eva figured people were sick of seeing pumpkins by now. 

A speaker was placed somewhere and she could hear the start up to the chorus of Thriller. Unfortunately so could Sebastian and he was beaming from ear to ear and it didn't take him too long to rope Abigail into dancing to it with him on the steps of the museum. 

"You see what I have to cope with?" Eva shook her head as Dean joined in and Kirk laughed, even Leonard was smiling. "You could at least dance in step with one another."

"I don't see you dancing!" Sebastian laughed as he zombie shuffled towards her.

"And you won't!" she ducked out of his way and ran up the rest of the stairs, pausing by one of the pillars that was lit up in an array of orange and purple. 

Leonard wandered after her with Kirk, Cas and Molly whilst the others shuffled in a zombie gait, Sebastian even adding in the guttural moans of the walking dead. 

Crate paper bats hung in the door way to the museum, fluttering in wind as Eva pulled open the door. Some people were crowded in the lobby, gawking up at the T-Rex that hadn't moved in several years and a few members of staff were wandering around.

She spotted Jim in a corner by the reception desk dressed perfectly for the night. She saw jeans, black and torn at the knees and a russet orange blazer clinging to his torso with black lapels and pockets. He turned and spotted Sebastian and Eva saw that around his neck and resting on his chest was a polka dot cravat in black and white.

"Christ on a cross," Eva said under her breath causing Leonard to laugh. "They're made for one another." 

Jim made his way over with eight laminated passes in his grasp but he made a beeline for Sebastian passing only the smallest of smiles to Eva. She pulled Leonard away to where the others were gaping up at the T-Rex and let them have their moment of greeting.

"They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky..." Kirk sang just loud enough for the others to hear who all suppressed stifled giggles aside from Eva who clipped him upside the head.

"Hey I was in an accident, I bumped my head," he grumbled.

"Well shoot if you bump it some more maybe some of the brain cells might spring back to life," she answered with a sardonic smile.

Leonard had to turn away to hide his wide grin and he saw Sebastian heading over to them before he began to dole out the laminated passes that were clipped to shirts and coats.

Sebastian quickly introduced to Jim to everyone, not that he was wholly interested in anyone else but the blonde and he began to lead the troupe off further into the museum. Molly and Abigail lagged behind at the back along with Cas and Dean and Kirk wandered up front with Eva and Leonard.

The first hall they were lead into was the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth and Jim lead the way with a small hand torch into a room where only the information boards were lit up. The hall was filled, according to Jim, with geological specimens from around the world that showed just how the planet worked. 

The group disbanded around the room, hands running lengths of rock, faces pressed up to glass where shining minerals were encased in stones. Leonard and Eva decided to stick with Sebastian and Jim; perhaps unlike the rest of them, they both wanted to learn something.

"Godzilla?" Kirk called, frowning at a glass case in the center of the room. "Is this part of the dinosaur?"

Kirk's face looked like a kid on Christmas as he pressed his hands up against the glass and studied the object within. Eva and Leonard glanced at one another and Jim was firing the bright blue eyed blonde and incredulous look.

"Godzilla was a lizard dumbass," Dean fired him a look that was trying not to laugh. "And also not real." 

"No, it's not," Jim's smooth Irish voice filled the room, disturbing the words of Dean and gained the attention of the others. "Does anyone know what it actually is?"

Puzzled looks were passed between the occupants of the hall until Leonard spoke up, gazing at the glass case where Kirk still stood looking in. 

"It's somethin' to do with Sulphide, right?" he glanced to the raven haired man who gave him a pleasant look of surprise. "It's the biggest somethin' or other."

"Chimney," Jim answered for him. "The original one that was 47m high collapsed in 1996, yet the year after, this one grew. It's about 20 meters high. They're found beneath the oceans where hot water laden with minerals expels from the earths crust."

There was a collective 'ooh' from the group before Jim led the way out and down a corridor. The lights were dimmed everywhere to the lowest they could go and if they weren't dimmed they were off completely, the group being led by Jim and his flashlight through the odd shadows of the museum.

It was nice to stroll around without the distant warbling shriek of a child that had been terrified by the lifelike animals in the African mammals hall, it was nice not to have to battle through the tourists too and Eva felt like she was quite enjoying herself, Leonard too. 

As they passed though the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, Sebastian watched Jim with great curiosity. He'd told him before he knew tidbits about the museum and that dinosaurs really were really his specialty but Jim seemed to have a vast knowledge of everything the museum contained and Sebastian wondered if he'd done the tour just for him or if he'd been doing the tour all evening.

Jim lead the way into the Hall of North American Mammals and every mouth in the group hung open in awe. Jim turned to speak to them all but let them have a moment to soak up the rich colours of the dioramas around them. 

"The hall holds 43 dioramas in total," he explained. "There are 46 animal species ranging from white tailed deer to jackrabbits." 

Eva spent a great deal of time looking at the bears and the wolves and Kirk was interested in the Ringtails but before he could ask about them, Jim was already leading them on down more shadowy corridors. 

The Hall of Biodiversity captivated Eva and Leonard in an instant. With no people inside, they were free to roam and get as close to the glass as they wanted. Above them, hung on clear strings were models of stingrays and small sharks and a plethora of different birds that Eva marveled at. 

Cas, Dean and Kirk were over by the Dodo and Molly and Abigail were ogling the Endangered Species case, but Jim wanted to show Eva something else and he led her, Leonard and Sebastian to a case displaying the Siberian Tiger.

"Surprisingly, tigers are only successful in their hunting around 10% of the time," Jim informed them as Eva stared at the tigers behind the glass with glee; she loved them. "Researchers are using camera traps now to estimate tiger populations as unfortunately, there aren't many of these type left."

"They're beautiful," Eva glanced at Jim with a half smile. "They look so life like."

"They're no Panther Pardus," Jim gave a half smirk and Eva gave a slight laugh. "But I feel you and a Siberian Tiger have a lot in common too."

"Thanks," she was smiling properly now as Jim walked away to gather the rest of them together.

"What was that about?" Leonard quizzed when she finally pulled herself away.

"The first time Jim saw me, he was taken by my eyes," she widened them for emphasis. "Said they were like a Leopards because they were so bright. I think he just thinks I'm like a big cat."

"Cute and deadly," Leonard weighed up the similarities. "I can see it."

"Funny," she gave him a playful thump on the arm and he grabbed her hand with a laugh.

\--

They wandered through the rest of the museum and finally made it into the final part of the tour; the dinosaurs. Jim gave a brief history and outline of each one and allowed the group to wander. 

The whole room was lit dimly and from the floor up. The light cast huge and lumbering shadows against the walls, the light firing through every hole and crack in the bones to create a grisly shadow against the wall.

Eva watched Sebastian and Jim gawp at the Stegosaurus. 'That must be Spike' she thought and laughed to herself for a moment as she saw the large plates on it's back. 

They were allowed a little roaming time to backtrack on themselves and whilst most of them chose to stay with the dinosaurs, Eva and Leonard wandered back to the Milstien Hall of Ocean Life. 

The whole room was bathed in blue light and a soft, steady sound of ocean waves could be heard overhead. Leonard followed after Eva and she wandered to the centre of the room and gaped up at the ninety four foot long whale that weight over 21,000 pounds.

"Amazing isn't it?" she said in awe as Leonard simply just watched her; he could do that a lot. 

He nodded quietly and let her marvel as he watched the deep blue light bathe her skin sapphire as she moved around the room. She peered into the dioramas of the ecosystems, smiled fondly at the replicas of the dolphins and finally found her way back to him. 

He hadn't noticed earlier how wide her eyes looked with the make up she wore, or how unbelievably green and vivid it had made them. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach, the same feeling you got when you thought that there was another step but there wasn't and he glanced up at her as she stood before him.

"You okay?" she frowned unsurely and Leonard tried to get a hold of himself.

"Yeah," he nodded quickly. "I'm fine."

He was too nervous to act on impulse like Eva could. He couldn't just lean forwards and kiss her. Eva did it in such a way that it felt special, Leonard would probably bite her lip or give her a black eye. 

She gave him a skeptical look and took his hand, leading him back to the rest of the group who were now making their way back to the start.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned a few chapters ago, I found my original ideas sheet for this story.  
> Now that I'm all caught up with what I'd written before and not posted, I can carry on writing!

After a round of thank you's to Jim, they parted ways with the raven haired curator and stepped out of the museum into a downpour. All the pumpkins had been extinguished and people in costume ran for the cover of the subway or the nearest awning. 

"When it rains, it pours," Molly grumbled, pulling her coat collar up around her neck. "We should run."

Kirk had turned his collar up too, his hands sunk in his pockets as he watched the rain tumble down. Molly and Abigail took off first, running as fast as they could down the steps closely followed by Cas and Dean and then Sebastian and Kirk who'd decided that racing one another might be fun. 

Eva watched after them and shook her head before she and Leonard hurried after them; like hell they were going to run. They reached the bottom long after the others had ducked into the nearest subway station and Leonard pulled Eva to a stop.

"Come on!" she laughed. "It's really rainin' and we'll miss the subway!"

He looked at her standing there before him, her hair bedraggled with rain, the droplets pooling on her face as she held the front of her coat together with her spare hand. Her expression became puzzled and Leonard felt as though if he didn't do something soon, she'd slap him silly.

Without a moments hesitation, he pulled her to him with the hand he held and pressed his lips against hers. 

Her lips were chapped from the cold and her skin was icy and clammy but Leonard had never wanted to kiss her more than right now. He held her tight, their lips working against one another as the rain beat down on them.

After a moment, Eva pulled away and grinned, wiping the rain droplets from Leonard's tanned face as he smiled at his feet.

"Come on Mr. Spontaneity," she caught his lips with another kiss, but only a quick one. "We're gettin' soaked."

She grasped his hand and he caught her eyes, his smile spreading to a grin before he gave a silent nod, indicating they should run for the subway. Their feet splashed across the street, their footsteps echoing down the stairs as the subway rolled up and Leonard pulled her onto it, out of breath and laughing like an idiot. 

In the same carriage were the rest of her friends, but Eva simply gave a grin as Leonard grasped a handhold and leant against him, one arm around his back, the other holding a bar for support.

\--

It was still raining when they got back to Sebastian's store. Kirk, Cas and Dean had jumped off the stop before theirs, Kirk flinging an arm around Leonard's shoulder before kissing Eva's cheek and Dean ruffling her hair before Cas gave them all a silent wave. 

Abigail insisted that Molly stayed at theirs that night; she wasn't going to let her catch another subway in the freezing cold and pouring rain, especially not on her own, and Leonard like the saint he was, was determined to drive all three of them back to Abigail and Eva's place when Sebastian had said goodnight.

When Leonard's car rolled up outside the small apartment building on Jackson, Molly and Abigail quickly thanked Leonard and hurried out of the car to the warmth of the inside, leaving Eva in the front with him. 

"Stay the night," she suggested. "It's only getting heavier and I don't want you driving in this. Plus, you look frozen and your clothes are wet."

"It's just across town," he shrugged with one hand on the wheel, trembling slightly from the chill of his wet clothes. "I'll be fine."

She raised a skeptical brow as the rain pelted the car and ran in streams down the windshield. The lights of the surrounding buildings shimmered in the puddles on the streets and the occasional car passed by, sending streams of water onto the sidewalk as the road partly flooded.

Eva suddenly leant over the center console and over Leonard's lap much to his surprise and seized the keys from the ignition, twirling the key ring around her finger with a mischievous grin.

"You can't get anywhere without these," she informed him, grasping them tight in her palm.

Leonard made a snatch for them but Eva pulled her hand away and popped open the door, before swinging the keys again and hopping out. 

He watched after her as she sauntered up the path, the rain wetting her through again; she really wasn't going to give him his keys back. Unbuckling his belt, he opened his door and slipped out, closing the door behind him, causing Eva to turn. She pressed the lock button on the key fob and beckoned Leonard towards her as he scurried up the path and followed her into the lobby.

"I don't wanna intrude," Leonard rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're not," she prodded him in his broad chest as they scaled the stairs; his shirt and coat were sodden. "Besides it's warm and dry here."

She slipped his car keys into his coat pocket and buttoned it up before she led him into apartment 5C; he'd not been back here since their first date and he couldn't rightly remember how it looked. 

Abigail and Molly were already settled on the sofa in clean, dry pajamas with cups of tea and Abigail gave Leonard a smile as he walked into the apartment and Eva closed the door behind him. She peeled off her coat, inviting Leonard to do the same, and hung both jackets on separate chairs at the small dining table. 

She grabbed him a clean towel from the bathroom and headed into the kitchen to boil the kettle. Abigail invited Leonard to sit on the opposing sofa and he did so, gingerly as Molly gave him a smile.

"What did you think of tonight?" Abigail asked him as he leant back into the sofa.

"It was kinda fun," he shrugged one shoulder. "You?"

"It was great," she said. "Aside from the rain. Least it's not a storm though. Did you see the one last week? That was awful."

"It was bad over the East River," Leonard's mind took him back to that night, Eva curled up at his side on the sofa in his living room. "Won't be long before it snows."

"I'm excited for that," Eva perched on the arm of the sofa, handing Leonard a mug of something hot and rich in smell. 

"You're always excited for the snow," Abigail rolled her eyes. "It's inconvenient in a city like this."

"I'm not sayin' it ain't," Eva shrugged. "But it's sure pretty."

Abigail turned with a smirk, ready to say something but Eva gave her a warning look and she decided against it, just this once. 

"Come on," Eva tapped Leonard's arm gently. "Time for bed."

Leonard hadn't realized how late it had gotten or really how much time they'd spent in the museum on Jim's tour. He got up from the sofa, spying the clock on the kitchen wall seeing it was 12:20am, and followed Eva to a room that led off the living room.

She called a goodnight behind her, which the girls chorused back and opened the door to what Leonard presumed was her bedroom.

Eva's room wasn't what Leonard expected at all. He expected bright and colourful, tidy and neat, but what he got was warm and comfortable and organized chaos. 

The walls were painted chocolate brown and large vintage French prints were pinned on the wall, one in particular that Leonard was familiar with was the Chat Noir. The carpet was a faded white with a Leopard print rug at the foot of the futon and in corners, stacked and shelved were numerous books that gave the room a little character. 

Eva placed her mug on a small stack of books on the right side of the bed and looked back to Leonard who was still looking around the room.

"You seem surprised," she said, puzzled.

"Wasn't what I was expectin'," he brought his hazel gaze to her green eyes and smiled. "But I like it." 

She returned his smile and glanced out of the window as the wind blew the rain against the glass pane making it sound like someone had spilt bal bearings on a wood floor. 

"This is in for the night," Eva yawned, her accent drawling on the word night making Leonard grin. "Get outta them wet clothes, I'll toss 'em in the dryer for you."

Eva crossed to a chest of draws by the door and pulled out some sleep shorts and vest top and all at once it hit Leonard that they'd be sharing the bed in night clothes. 

"I could just sleep on the sofa," he glanced to her bedroom door and Eva turned to him, clutching her night clothes in her left hand. 

"You could," she lolled her head to one side. "Course they ain't too nice to spend a night on."

Leonard was quiet for a moment as Eva's expression softened. She placed a soft kiss to his cheek and left him in the room to decide where he was going to place himself. 

When she returned, Leonard was out of his wet things and sat up under the sheets of her bed, thumbing through one of the books from the pile at his side. He looked right, sitting there in her bed, his half damp hair falling over his face as she tried not to pay attention to his bare shoulders and chest. 

She spotted his clothes folded neatly at the foot of the bed and gathered them, not even earning his attention as she did so and she moved to the kitchen, flung them in the dryer and set it going, before returning to her room.

This time Leonard did glance up when she walked through the door. He set the book aside without taking his eyes from her because he simply couldn't. 

Her hair was dry now and falling in thick waves around her head and shoulders. Her skin was slightly tanned, her arms and legs bony but not horribly so. Her skin looked smooth like silk and Leonard so badly wanted to stroke from her shoulder to her hand whilst he kissed that delicate spot on her neck just by her ear. 

Eva was doing her fair share of staring too as she crawled under the sheets. The bed was already warm from Leonard's radiating body heat and she settled with her back against the wall, her eyes moving over all the skin of Leonard's she could see.

His shoulders were broad, the muscles of his neck standing out perfectly against his collarbones. His sun kissed skin shone slightly, his shoulders dotted with freckles that would make the nights sky jealous with how many constellations Eva could draw from them. 

She'd never noticed how big his arms were before, how defined the muscles were and she almost had to pinch herself to stop herself from daydreaming. 

Leonard's mug was empty and he stifled a yawn as Eva emptied her own and reached for the light. She hesitated for a moment and turned back to him.

"Goodnight," she said, breaking the silence that had covered them since she'd gotten back into the room. 

She leant forwards as he did, claiming his lips with a quick kiss, but Leonard's hand locked around her wrist, his warm palm against her soft bare skin. She pulled away but for a moment to study his expression, to make sure he was sure and she got her answer when he moved in to kiss her again.

It was almost ferocious, the way he pushed his lips against hers. Her arms snaked around his neck, his hands cradling her back, his palms hot through her thin tank top. They moved, grabbing and squeezing gently at her hips as their legs tangled together and Eva found herself in his lap again. 

A range of emotions flowed through her as Leonard's hands roamed her back and hips, as his fingers tangled and pulled at her long hair. 

And suddenly she was on her back, Leonard over her with his muscles taught beneath his tanned skin that glistened with a thin film of sweat. His fingers pulled at her tank top, his lips making light work of her neck before she allowed him to pull the shirt over her head. 

His hands caressed every inch of skin he could see, his lips following shortly after as Eva arched beneath him, fingers clawing at his broad, freckled shoulders but not enough to leave marks. As gently as she could, she found Leonard's face with her hands, his eyes wild, his face a little flushed and she kissed him delicately, lingering on his lips for a mere moment as his fingers trailed her cheek and jaw and he flopped down at the side of her as she pulled her shirt back on. 

"Well, alright then," Eva was feeling just as wild and warm as he was as he stared up at the ceiling. 

A small laugh escaped Leonard and he turned his head to her as she flicked out the light and settled on her side facing him. 

"You're beautiful," Leonard said through the dark. "And fun and a whole hell of somethin' else and I like that."

Eva smiled and Leonard could see it through the dark of the room that was lit faintly by the glow of the streetlamps outside in the downpour.

"Well, I like you too," she answered, settling. 

The wind blew another gale against the windows and the sound reverberated through the room. Leonard laid an arm around Eva protectively as she settled closer to him, her forehead inches from his shoulder as he kissed her hair and rested his head against hers with a muffled 'goodnight.'


End file.
